The Performing Arts Center Presents
Grammy Award Winner Angélique Kidjo

The Performing Arts Center at Purchase College will close out their 2022-2023 season on Saturday, April 15 with a live performance by five-time Grammy Award winner Angélique Kidjo at 8pm. Angélique Kidjo is considered to be one of the greatest artists in international music today. 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. Kidjo is a creative force with sixteen albums to her name. Her most recent, Mother Nature, took home the Grammy for Best Global Music Album in April 2022, reinforcing her status as a true icon of African music. Met with career-best raves, Mother Nature tackles major issues like the climate crisis and the struggle for freedom, but in Kidjo’s hands, these themes are translated through music that is radiantly joyful. 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 the 2018 German Sustainability Award, and the 2023 Vilcek Prize in Music. Kidjo 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. 

“We embarked on the 2022-2023 season not fully knowing what to expect,” comments Interim General Manager Ian Driver. “All we knew is that we had a powerful line-up of world class artists and a dedicated staff ready to make things happen, and we hoped that audiences were equally ready to come back and experience live performing arts again. I am thrilled to report that they certainly were. And I couldn’t think of a more appropriate way to celebrate and close out the season than by filling the Concert Hall with our friends and fans, and with Angélique Kidjo’s exuberant and joyous sound.”

 The Performing Arts Center at Purchase College is located at 735 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase. • Ticket Office: 914.251.6200 • www.artscenter.org