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MOBO Award winner balances music with studies

MOBO 2008 Award-winning saxophonist Yolanda Brown, a PhD student from the University of Kent, is preparing for her next solo concert at Cadogan Hall, London on 29 November.

In conjunction with her music, Yolanda has completed a Masters in Management Science, a Masters in Social Research Methods and is currently studying for her PhD at the University of Kent.

When asked how she manages the two, Yolanda said: 'To be honest, it is not easy but I am passionate about both my PhD and music and so I have to put it down to time management! My research supervisor and my music manager at Black Grape Productions are both very understanding of my work which is also a great help.'

In addition to her solo concert, Yolanda will spend November supporting Motown legends, The Temptations, for a series of shows across the UK. Plus, she will be performing at the Urban Music Awards at IndigO2 where she has been nominated for Best Jazz.

Yolanda's PhD supervisor, John Mingers, Director of Research at Kent Business School, said: 'When Yolanda started her PhD, she sometimes said that she was playing the saxophone that evening. I presumed that she just played in small venues somewhere. I was absolutely staggered when I saw a video on You Tube of her filling the Hackney Empire. It's fantastic that she is able to do that as well as work at the highest level of academic study.'

Contact: mediaoffice@kent.ac.uk

Story published at 10:30am 11 November 2008