YolanDa Brown

YolanDa Faye Brown OBE DL (born 4 October 1982)[1] is a British saxophonist, composer, and broadcaster.

[2] Brown was born to Jamaican parents (her mother was a headteacher, while her father was an advertising executive) in Barking, Essex, England.

Brown gained a further master's degree in Methods of Social Research, followed by four years of Ph.D. study in management science, before taking a hiatus from her thesis on "Multi Methodology" to pursue her music career.

[13] The Department of Education and DCMS in 2021, invited Brown to sit on the advisory panel for the National Plan for Music Education (NPME),[14] In June 2022, she was appointed by the Secretary of State Nadine Dorries, as National Council Member[15] at Arts Council England In July 2022, Brown was appointed chair of the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

[17] In 2023, Brown made plans to open an Islington music venue and restaurant called Soul Mama, after raising funds on Kickstarter.

[19] In January 2018, Brown was appointed Chair of Youth Music, a national charity investing in music-making projects for children and young people experiencing challenging circumstances.

She is also a celebrity ambassador for The Prince's Trust, Children & the Arts, Plan UK, Place2Be, World Child Cancer and London Music Fund.

Featured artists included Bob Reynolds from Snarky Puppy and Casey Benjamin from the Robert Glasper Experiment.

Brown in 2018