Angélique Kidjo
Angélique Kidjo was born in Benin and began her career at age six by performing in her mother's theatre troupe. In 1983, due to Benin’s unstable political climate, she moved to Paris where she studied jazz. Her music is heavily influenced by West African rhythms and incorporates a range of other musical traditions, such as funk, rumba, salsa, jazz, souk and makossa. She is multilingual, speaking and singing in English, French, Yoruba and Fon, the native language of Benin.
Kidjo has won a number of music awards, including the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album for her Djin Djin.
When Saturday, 1 May 2010, 8 pm
Where National Concert Hall, Main Auditorium
Presented by Waltons New School of Music
Supported by RTÉ lyric fm, Conrad Dublin Hotel
Tickets €35, €40, €45 (choir balcony €20) available from nch.ie (no booking fee)
UNICEF
Appointed in 2002, Kidjo continues to travel the world as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and symbol of Africa. While on the fields in Tanzania, Benin, Ethiopia, Brazil and many other places, she has been helping to raise awareness of a new UNICEF Program, Girls Education, which has been designed to help eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education.
All profits from this concert, Angélique Kidjo's first in Ireland, will be donated to UNICEF Ireland and its ongoing work in Haiti.
More details about Angélique Kidjo and the concert are available on the Waltons New School of Music website