One evening shortly before 1994 NYSC began, a few staph assembled in Laura Dill Dining Hall to record a new selection for Lights Out music.  Greg Pitter (NV92) and Woody McCallum (VA69) provided much of the arrangement for a tune entitled "Ashokan Farewell."  Paul Shih (MI91) and I played violin, and Muse Davis (MS89) accompanied them on guitar.
 
Jay Ungar wrote this simple piece in 1982, and it was featured prominently in 1990 television miniseries "The Civil War" by Ken Burns.  "Ashokan Farewell" has been described affectionately by old-time musicians as the contemporary tune that sounds most like an old, traditional melody.
 
Several years later at camp, I think it was Paul Miller (WY87), then director, who once told me that the limitations of the PA system at Camp Pocahontas effectively smooth out the slight imperfections of that 1994 recording, for example, the characteristic cassette tape hiss.  It was as if our bit of analog, homespun music was filtered lovingly through those speakers to create a purer sound to drift down to the (then) mint-green cabins.
 
Finally, no mention of "Ashokan Farewell" at NYSC can be complete without identifying the source and inspiration for the song, at least to the best of my recollection.  Dave Kharbanda (MO93) was a fellow camper in my delegate year, and it was Dave who played the piece solo on his viola during our reflections at Camp Allegheny on July 4, 1993.  We have Dave to thank for introducing us to "Ashokan Farewell" to us and for bringing a Lights Out tradition to NYSC.
 
In a fit of nostalgia after the 2008 reunion, I was moved to comb through my memories of camp, and I found a copy of our 1994 recording.  I hope you find some joy in this music.
 
 Kirby Lee
 July 2008