Birdsong to Perform at UNESCO Event

Related Media

PADUCAH, KY (09/12/2017) Paducah, Kentucky will host representatives from 20 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Creative Cities Network (UCCN) for the first annual meeting of the sub-network of Cities of Crafts & Folk Art from September 24 - 27, 2017. Designated with the affiliation as a Creative City nearly four years ago, Paducah welcomes global leaders to share their best practices for incorporating the arts and culture in building identity and strategic development.

As a part of the activities during the UNESCO representatives' visit, Todd Birdsong, technical director of the Clemens Fine Arts Center at West Kentucky Community and Technical College, was invited to perform a site-specific sound art piece during a private official Mayor & Commissioners Dinner at Paducah City Hall.

Accompanying Todd will be his long-time artistic collaborator and friend Paul Lorenz. The two have created several uniquely sonic and performance-based experiences over the past several years. Also contributing to the performance that evening will be Chelsea Jones and Doug Owens, both from the Paducah Symphony Orchestra. The performed work will be an original score with a combination of improvised acoustic and electronic sounds combined with the formal approach of traditional instruments played by Jones and Owens. The performance should be as unique as the UNESCO event itself.

The Creative Cities Network was created in 2004 to promote the development and preservation of local arts and culture assets but with a keen awareness of each locale's place within the international community. The 116 cities which currently comprise this network collaborate towards a common objective: placing creativity and cultural industries at the heart of their development plans at the local level and cooperating actively at the international level.