Crafting My Life: Artist, Arts Champion, Philanthropist

By Yolanda F. Johnson

Years ago, when I was in the process of completing my undergraduate degree in voice performance, tens of orchestras across the United States were closing due to financial mismanagement. I realized then the importance of an orchestra as the backbone of an artistic community. I said to my dancer colleagues, “You can dance to pre-recorded music, but I can’t sing a Figaro (Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro) to a track.” So, I decided then to learn the other side of the arts; the administrative and philanthropic side to keeping the arts alive. Ever since that moment in my life, I have crafted a life of two paths between performance and philanthropy, with all my other values and passions in-between. It is something I think we all should do. Craft a life that is not just a “grind,” but that fulfills you and allows you to live out your convictions while still not only surviving but thriving.

I am so blessed to still regularly enjoy performing and there is no place quite like the tri-state area to live out this dream. I am a resident soprano soloist with Westchester Chamber Soloists, in addition to a frequent concert and recital soloist and presenter, most recently with the Cello Society of New York at an outdoor concert in Central Park.

I have an album of Spirituals, Feel the Spirit!, that also inspired a concert-lecture, A Spirituals Experience, an examination of the covert meanings behind traditional Spirituals as related to the Underground Railroad. I am a regular soloist at my Baptist church, because that is of utmost importance to me, to share my gifts within the realm of my faith and in honor to God. I compose sacred music and my “Music She Wrote” concert-lecture unearths incredible, exquisite music by women composers since the Middle Ages. Intentionality is my word for 2024, and I’ve been very happy with how intentional I’ve been. It is for this reason that when I put on my philanthropy hat, I’m able to find intersection points for both areas to thrive. So, back in March of this year, I created, in partnership with my friend Jeannie Sager, Women, Philanthropy and the Arts, an in-depth discussion on women’s support of the arts, ending with a performance of Music She Wrote. That was my happy place. I don’t have much of a knack for visual art myself, but I certainly know how to appreciate it, and I am honored to serve on the board of both the Hudson River Museum and the Lehman College Art Gallery. One of my primary goals at both institutions is to find intersections between visual art and music.

When my philanthropy professional hat is firmly on, I also find ways to bring the arts and culture into that work. For example, each year, the organization I founded, Women of Color in Fundraising and Philanthropy (WOC), holds a conference, the Symposium. We are sure, each year to open the event with an artist performance. From pianists to vocalists, string players to dance groups from across the country, we find ways to blend the arts with the good work we do. And in my role as International Advisory Board member for the Foundation for Post Conflict Development, I explore the ways that nations who are healing post-conflict can preserve and use the arts as an important tool in this work.

In my opinion, the arts, humanities and cultural institutions and preservation are essential to the human condition. They are a part of who we are and a part of why we thrive and can find beauty within our everyday lives. As you perhaps think of ways to give back to arts and culture, I thought to get you started with a list of organizations I support, in case you are interested as well.

• The Hudson River Museum, HRM.org

• Lehman College Art Gallery, LehmanGallery.org

• LEAP (Learning Through an Expanded Arts Program, LeapNYC.org

• American Composers Orchestra, AmericanComposers.org

• The Institute of Music for Children, InstituteOfMusic.org

• The Yard, DanceTheYard.org