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- YolanDa Brown is the premier female saxophonist in the UK.

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- First Musician to win a MOBO Award for “Best Jazz” in two consecutive years

 

- YolanDa’s Debut Album “April Showers May Flowers” was No1 on the Jazz Charts and her Sophomore album "Love Politics War" also went to No I.

 

- Featured guests included: Dame Evelyn Glennie, Grammy Winner John Cleary from New Orleans, Bill Laurance (from Snarky Puppy), Award Winning Trumpeter Keyon Harrold (Maxwell, Gregory Porter, Jay Z), Floacist (From Grammy Nominated duo Floetry), Casey Benjamin (Robert Glasper).

 

- YolanDa is known to sometimes give a pair of her heels away to an audience member at her gigs

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- She is currently composing music for the iconic Sesame Street and an animated series called Bea’s Block.

 

- She is also composing music for the Netflix and Moonbug series CocoMelon Lane. 

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In July 2022, YolanDa was appointed Chair of  BPI - the representative voice for record labels in the UK. BPI organises The BRIT Awards, The Mercury Prize and co-owns The Official Charts.

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- The Lord Lieutenant of Greater London appointed YolanDa as a Deputy Lieutenant in October 2022.

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- The Department of Education and DCMS in 2021, invited YolanDa to sit on the advisory panel for the National Plan for Music Education, published in June 2022.

 

- She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of East London

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- YolanDa was nominated for a BAFTA Award in 2022

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- YolanDa was the Voice of W TV (part of the UKTV group of channels) for 2 years. She was the continuity announcer for the premium entertainment channel.

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- In January 2018, she was appointed Chair of the biggest music education charity in the UK, "Youth Music".

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- YolanDa in 2022 was appointed by Secretary of State Nadine Dorries as National Council Member at Arts Council.

 

- Performed on a Plane with Nicole Sherzinger on route to Mardi Gras in New Orleans

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- Toured with Billy Ocean, The Temptations, Errol Brown, Beverley Knight and Diana Krall.

 

- YolanDa is a Mum with two daughters, Jemima eight and Adelphi two.

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- She presents on BBC Radio 4 Loose Ends with Clive Anderson and presents 2 Inflight Radio shows on British Airways

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- YolanDa presents numerous shows on BBC Radio 2

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- She presents a regular weekly show "YolanDa Brown on Saturday" on Jazz FM.

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- Her eponymous TV series, "YolanDa's Band Jam" for CBeebies launched in January 2019 and is now in its 3rd Series, which recently won the Royal Television Society Awards as Best Children’s Programme

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- For the BBC she hosted the Ella and Dizzy Centenary Prom, Last night of the Proms for BBC Four, Gospel Choir of the Year for BBC 1 and BBC Young Jazz Musician of the year for the last couple of years.

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- She launched the Drake YolanDa Award with Philanthropist and Entrepreneur James Drake to support emerging artists in the UK.

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- YolanDa has appeared on both quiz shows on the BBC; Celebrity Eggheads and Celebrity Mastermind

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- She appeared on the TV show House of Games on BBC TWO with Richard Osman, Rev Kate Bottley, Joel Dommett and John Thomson 

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- YolanDa performed a duet with both Rick Astley and Kelly Jones on Jools Hollands Hootenany in December 2019 on BBC Two.

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- YolanDa was on tour in Australia when Covid 19 lockdowns started to happen.

 

- She is a Foodie and can also complete a Rubik's cube in under 5 minutes…on a good day!

 

- YolanDa also loves to race cars, fast cars! You can usually find her driving at a racing track on her days off.

 

- She is a celebrity ambassador for the Prince’s Trust, Children and the Arts, Plan UK, World Child Cancer, as well as the London Music Fund.

 

- Graduated with a First class degree in Operations management from the University of Kent.

 

- She has 2 Masters and had been studying a PhD for four years at the University of Kent, before taking a hiatus from her thesis on “Multi Methodology” to pursue her music career

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- Listed in the Evening Standard as one of the top 30 black students in the UK selected by ex Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

 

- YolanDa Speaks Spanish

 

- Invited to meet the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace.

 

- In January 2017, YolanDa was named as the celebrity ambassador for the Greater London Assembly and ABRSM "Learn Music London” Campaign.

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- In 2016 she went on a nationwide UK tour called, “Reggae Love Songs”. Performed at her first BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, Headlining at the Barbican for the London Jazz Festival.

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- Featured on Gareth Malone’s album "A British Christmas" released on Decca, Universal.

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- An entrepreneur too, YolanDa launched the “London Saxophone Festival” in 2018, from concerts for children, to film screenings and the very popular Sax Village, it is a welcome addition to the festival circuit.

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