Illustration Credit: Emily Renaud / Audubon

Wednesday, April 24, 2024 — For the Birds: The Birdsong Project and committed bird conservation non-profit the National Audubon Society announce today a summer slate of event programming in Aspen, Colorado with a collection of local organizations and events at local festivals. 

Celebrations will begin at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass, Colorado on June 3rd and continue into neighboring communities with far-reaching programming aimed at both entertaining and educating community members of all ages.

Kicking off the summer’s events, Audubon Rockies and Anderson Ranch Arts Center are partnering on a workshop June 3rd-7th called “Wildlife Wonder.” Participants ages 6-8 will learn how to draw, paint, and build their favorite animals in realistic and creative forms using various artistic mediums, such as bookmaking and weaving. Audubon Rockies Community Naturalists will help participants explore birds through the themes of migration, bird song and adaptations. The Community Naturalists deliver environmental education programs to people of all ages to create lasting connections with nature in their communities across Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming and are thrilled to partner with Anderson Ranch Arts Center in bringing these subjects to life through art.

For the Birds: The Birdsong Project and the National Audubon Society will partner with ACES in bringing to life a musical performance from the GRAMMY-winning Birdsong effort on Saturday, July 27th from 12-2 pm. Guests are invited to bring a picnic lunch and listen to an opening educational talk with Audubon's Chief Scientist Chad Wilsey, sharing examples of how birds connect people across the hemisphere through their amazing migratory journeys and ultimately, how art can help drive conservation action. Students from the Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) will arrange and perform what promises to be a dazzling afternoon performance at ACES Catto Center at Toklat.

Two additional pop-ups in town will take place Saturday, July 27th in collaboration with AMFS, starting 11 am-2 pm with the famous Aspen Saturday Market, where The Birdsong Project and Audubon will have copies of the GRAMMY-winning For the Birds: The Birdsong Project 20LP vinyl box set on display and available for purchase, as well as information on how to support birds by becoming a National Audubon Society member. On Saturday night from 7-9 pm, The Birdsong Project and Audubon will take over the plaza outside the beloved Paradise Bakery and delight the public with a musical evening arranged and performed by AMFS students. 

“Birds have inspired art for millennia with their multi-colored plumage, their long-distance migrations, and their birdsong. Birds also tell us that they need our help. Through the Birdsong Project we can inspire people across the western hemisphere to protect birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow,” said Dr. Chad Wilsey, chief scientist at the National Audubon Society.

The Birdsong Project is the sweeping, Grammy-winning music collection of 242 recordings by leading artists inspired by birdsong that has been prominently featured by the NY Times, The Guardian, NPR Music, Rolling Stone, and CBS Sunday Morning. It was released digitally throughout five volumes, in 2022 and you can listen to the full collection HERE.

“We’re very happy to be bringing the Birdsong Project to Aspen this summer,” says Randall Poster. “We are thrilled with the variety of events and activities planned, and promise some lovely surprises as well. Music by the birds and for the birds.”

The Birdsong Project and Audubon were originally introduced to local Aspen partners, starting with ACES, by resident artist, environmentalist, and philanthropist Isa Catto. Inspired by The Birdsong Project, Catto created her own original artwork featuring environmentally threatened birds printed on notebooks, tote bags, and silk scarves, all available for purchase via the Isa Catto Studio website in support of Audubon’s conservation mission. 

"I became a birder after my godfather gave me an Audubon membership and my first pair of binoculars,” explains Catto. “Bird sightings permeate my childhood memories .. and I know birding laid the foundation for being an artist. It made me more observant, and I developed patience. I do know that when you look at anything in the natural world, wonder comes calling. Reverence keeps your heart open and pushes away absolute thinking."

Co-created by Grammy Award-winning Music Supervisor Randall Poster (Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson, Todd Haynes) and Executive Producer Rebecca Reagan, For the Birds: The Birdsong Project was released as an art-filled, 20-LP box set in 2022 featuring Yoko Ono, Elvis Costello, Laurie Anderson, Yo-Yo Ma, Beck, Karen O, Tilda Swinton, Robert Pattinson, Jeff Goldblum, Greta Gerwig and many more to benefit the National Audubon Society. For the Birds: The Birdsong Project has been dedicated to protecting birdlife representing cultures from 31 countries, from small towns in Northwest Africa to the rural countryside of Ireland and bustling cities like Paris, Tokyo, and New York.

See the full summer slate of programming below and more here: https://www.audubon.org/events/aspen-summer-birds-2024

And read more at the Aspen Times:

https://www.aspentimes.com/news/for-the-birds-the-birdsong-project-coming-to-aspen-this-summer/

SUMMER OF BIRDS 2024 Programming

Aspen, Colorado

Wildlife Wonder Children’s Workshop

with Audubon Rockies

June 3rd-June 7th

Anderson Ranch Arts Center

Picnic Lunch, Afternoon Talk + Live Musical Performance

With Audubon’s Chief Scientist Chad Wilsey + AMFS Student Quartet

12-2pm July 27th

ACES Catto Center at Toklat

Pop-up at AMFS Tent

For The Birds: The Birdsong Project Box Set + Audubon Membership Drive

11am-2pm July 27th

Aspen Saturday Market

Pop-up at Paradise Bakery Plaza

Live Musical Performance with AMFS Student Quartet

7-9pm July 27th

Paradise Bakery, Aspen

Morning Bird Outing + Live Musical Performance

July 28th

With Roaring Fork Audubon Society + AMFS Student Quartet

Carbondale, CO

About For the Birds: The Birdsong Project: The Birdsong Project was produced by Randall Poster, the Grammy Award-winning producer and music supervisor known for his longtime work with Wes Anderson and Martin Scorsese. It was conceived and inspired by Executive Producer Rebecca Reagan, who brought a grand creative vision and wisdom to the project. Additional executive producers are Elliot Bergman, Stewart Lerman, and Lee Ranaldo. The project features a who's-who of decorated actors, Pulitzer prize winners, top musicians, and beyond, including Olivia Wilde, Sean Penn, Robert Pattinson, Greta Gerwig, Mark Ronson, Nick Cave, Elvis Costello, Ad-Rock, Bette Midler, Danielle Haim, Florence Welch and hundreds more. The Producers and Artists of this collection are proud donors to the National Audubon Society and its mission to protect birds and the places they need today, tomorrow, and for all of our futures. Earlier this year, For the Birds: The Birdsong Project earned a Grammy Win for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package. The 5 Volume, 20-LP Deluxe Box set packaging was designed by Jeri Heiden and John Heiden with contributions from dozens of artists.

About the National Audubon Society: The National Audubon Society is a nonprofit conservation organization that protects birds and the places they need today and tomorrow. Birds act as early warning systems about the health of our environment, and they are telling us that our planet is in trouble. As a long-time leader in the conservation movement, Audubon is rising to meet the urgency of this moment. Like the birds we love, our work spans the Americas – from Boreal Canada to coastal Chile. In communities across the hemisphere, we are tackling change, protecting and restoring important places for birds and people, and fostering a community where the joy of birds sparks action for our planet.

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