“In order to have a successful symphony, you’ve got to have the public out there supporting it,” says Paducah Mayor Bill Paxton.  The public has supported a symphony in Paducah since its start in 1979 as a prominent feature of the Paducah Summer Festival.  The Paducah Symphony now enjoys regular seasons at the Carson Center.  In this episode of Quality of Life, Mayor Paxton talks to Daniel Sene, Executive Director of the Paducah Symphony Orchestra, and board chairman John Williams, Jr. about the history, growth, future, and challenges for the Paducah Symphony.

Quality of Life can be seen on Government 11, Paducah’s governmental access channel.  The episode also is online at www.paducahky.gov and the various social media outlets for the City of Paducah including Youtube and Facebook.  Check the website for Government 11 program information, videos, news releases, and broadcast schedules.

When asked about the mission of the Paducah Symphony Orchestra, Williams says, “It is to bring great music to this region.  If we lived in New York City, Chicago, or San Francisco, we would expect to have this type of asset.  What the Paducah Symphony is looking to do is to make a Paducah imprint, make our regional arts community as full as possible by bringing great music.” 

Many of the musicians travel several hours to play in the Paducah Symphony Orchestra for a very modest paycheck.  Williams says, “The reason these people are playing is for the opportunity to play in an orchestra of this type and in a facility like the Carson Center.”

Sene became the Executive Director of the Paducah Symphony Orchestra this summer.  Sene says, “It’s a unique orchestra.  There are not a lot of communities that start an orchestra with an outside musician force, that really pull in from several different communities.  It takes a lot of coordination and effort, and that challenge was really appealing to me.”  Sene says he has noticed a strong spirit of determination in Paducah.

In this episode of Quality of Life, viewers will learn about the various programs offered through the Paducah Symphony including the choral programs and the development of a youth string orchestra.  Also in this episode, viewers will hear about the challenges to fund an orchestra.

For more information about Quality of Life and other Government 11 programming, call Tom Butler, WKCTC Television Production Coordinator, at 534-3208 or Pam Spencer, City of Paducah Public Information Officer, at 444-8669.

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