International Festival of Arts & Ideas: Angelique Kidjo

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Date
Saturday • June 10, 2023 • 6:00 pm
Venue
New Haven Green 250 Temple Street
New Haven, CT 06511 United States

Dive into the magical tones of one of Africa’s most prominent musicians, five-time Grammy Award winner Angelique Kidjo, at the Opening Night of the 2023 International Festival of Arts & Ideas! Led by music director Alasdair Neale, this free New Haven Symphony Orchestra concert on the New Haven Green will entrance listeners by seamlessly mixing genres and powerful musical messages.

6:00 p.m. Opening Remarks
6:20 p.m. Drum Circle Call to Music
7:00 p.m. New Haven Symphony Orchestra and Angelique Kidjo

The music on the program will include Quinn Mason’s “A Joyous Trilogy” and selections from Ms. Kidjo’s 2015 album Sing with the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra.

Visit International Festival of Arts & Ideas Website

Featured Performers:

New Haven Symphony Orchestra
Alasdair Neale, music director

Angélique Kidjo, special guest

Brian Jarawa Gray and Michael Mills, featured drummers

Charliece Salters, choreographer

Thank you to our Sponsors:
The Helen H. Roberts Trust and the International Association of New Haven.

  • Meet the Artists

    Angelique Kidjo

    Four-time Grammy Award winner Angélique Kidjo is one of the greatest artists in international music today, a creative force with fourteen albums to her name. Time Magazine has called her “Africa’s premier diva”, and named her one of the most influential people in the world for 2021; The BBC, Forbes Magazine, and The Guardian have all highlighted her importance to the people of the African continent. She is the recipient of the 2015 Crystal Award given by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the 2016 Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience Award, and the2018 German Sustainability Award.

    As a performer, her striking voice, stage presence and fluency in multiple cultures and languages have won respect from her peers and expanded her following across national borders. Kidjo has cross-pollinated the West African traditions of her childhood in Benin with elements of American R&B, funk and jazz, as well as influences from Europe and Latin America.

    Angelique also advocates on behalf of children as a UNICEF and OXFAM Ambassador. She created her own charitable foundation, Batonga, dedicated to support the education of young girls in Africa.

  • Watch & Listen

    Listen to the album Sings for free on Spotify:

     

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