Abena Koomson-Davis is a performer, educator, and wordsmith. She originated the role of Fela’s mother in the Off-Broadway musical Fela! and reprised her role in the Broadway production, which earned three Tony Awards. She has performed alongside Stevie Wonder, Carly Simon, Angelique Kidjo, and many other luminaries. Abena can be heard on Natalie Merchant’s most recent album, Keep Your Courage, where she is featured on two duets: “Come on, Aphrodite” and “Big Girls.”
For more than 15 years, Abena has been the lead vocalist of the funk rock band Van Davis. She is the musical director for the Resistance Revival Chorus, and her song “Joy in Resistance” is featured on their debut album, This Joy. Abena’s debut jazz album on WJ3 Records, Where is Love, features time-honored standards and original compositions co-written with her husband, acclaimed jazz trombonist Steve Davis.
Abena is a member and featured collaborator of Scapegoat Garden, a New England-based creative engine whose most recent project, Liturgy | Order | Bridge, conceived by Deborah Goffe, was the recipient of the Creative Capital Award grant. Abena serves as ethics chair of the middle school division at Ethical Culture Fieldston School, where she teaches ethics and social justice to middle and upper school students. Abena is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts, and also of Teachers College, Columbia University, where she earned a master’s in Education Leadership.