Musicwoman Magazine 2022

In Memoriam

Queen Yahna was from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her musical abilities covered every range from opera, and gospel to rock. She captivated and excited all her audiences, in numerous productions on great stages all over the world. She was on Broadway and in American National Productions as Maria in Porgy and Bess, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Supporting Actress. She was Bloody Mary in South Pacific, Big Bertha in One Mo’ Time, Evillene in The Wiz, Katisha in The Hot Mikado, and the Prayer Lady in God’s Trombones.

She was the featured guest in the last episode of the ABC-TV series Cop Rock in the closing number, It’s Not Over Until The Fat Lady Sings. Yahna won the Audelco Award for the most outstanding performance by a female in a musical production for her performance in Simply Heavenly.

In Europe, she was Maria in Porgy and Bess, the Rainbow Fairy in Under The Rainbow, and the star of the evening in Broadway In Black and Best Of Broadway. She wowed Swiss audiences as Queenie in Showboat. The fantastic singer composed top ten hits on European charts. The Queen Yahna Experience included the Cosmic Funk Orchestra, Shades of Blue jazz and blues trio, Going Downtown To See Jesus by her contemporary gospel group Spirit, and a one-woman show Songs Mahalia Sang were notable throughout Europe.

She graced the stages of the Berlin Philharmonie, Friedrichstadtpalast, Theater des Westerns, Bregenzer Festspiele, Radio France Concert Hall, Komische Oper, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and Bern Stadt Theater. She performed at jazz festivals in Berlin, Montreux, and Bern, and the televised Hannover Jazz Festival in a

tribute to the 100th Anniversary of Louis Armstrong.

Other performances include the Concert of International Artists Against Racism, where Queen Yahna and her Cosmic Funk Orchestra were the highlight of the evening along with Roger Moore, Sonny Bono, Vanessa Redgrave and Kris Kristofferson. She performed at the Annual AIDS Gala.

The American Embassy in Germany called her The True Ambassador Of Love and Peace.

“I want to share my gift from God with the world, to bring joy to the heart; rejuvenation to the soul, and awakening to the mind.” ~ Queen Yahna