Renowned filmmaker Ken Burns speaks Thursday at Purdue University as part of Purdue’s series on Corporate Citizenship and Ethics.
Ken Burns is an Emmy winning and Academy award nominated documentarian. His free talk Thursday evening, “Sharing the American Experience” will cover The Civil War, Baseball, and Jazz. He says music is just as important as the writing and images in his films.
In 1984, Burns heard "Ashokan Farewell" and was touched by the melody. He has used it in two of his films: The Civil War, and Huey Long. It is actually played 25 times throughout the eleven-hour series of The Civil War, about an hour of film. "Ashokan Farewell" is believed by many to be a traditional tune from the Civil War era; however, it is by Jay Unger, and is the only modern composition on the documentary's soundtrack!
Ken Burn’s talk, “Sharing the American Experience” is Thursday evening at 6:30 pm at Elliott Hall of Music on the Purdue campus.
