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.