The Works：Afircan singer-songwriter Angelique Kidjo, in the studio: Festive Korea classical trio

Singer-songwriter, activist and Grammy award winner Angelique Kidjo was born and raised. And she draws her musical inspiration from a variety of sources: African traditions, American soul, funk, rap, jazz, samba, reggae, and salsa. In the late 1970s, she formed her own band and released an album, but at her first major concert in Togo she was criticised for refusing to sing songs praising Benin's communist party. A later unpleasant experience of having to stage a concert for government officials pushed her to move to Paris, and later New York. It was thirteen years before she returned to Benin, where she is now recognised as a star and a musical ambassador.
Festive Korea was launched in Hong Kong in 2011. It’s now in its 7th edition. The two-month festival includes traditional arts, dance, musical, classical music, pop music, cinema and food. One of this year’s highlights was a concert by the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra that featured the music of Mahler, Bruch and Tchaikovsky.
But the festival also features a young generation of musicians, such as violinist Ji Young Lim, pianist Da Sol Kim and cellist Min-Ji Kim, and they are with us now.