“Aspen,” a 30-minute film produced by USIA in 1974, takes its title from the historic Colorado mountain village that began in the Nineteenth Century as a silver mining town and, through the Twentieth developed into a year-long recreation center for lovers of the outdoors and culturally minded visitors. Well known for skiing and winter sports, in the summer Aspen becomes a cornucopia of music, dance, and artistic expression. It is the summer home of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Ballet West, The American Brass Quintet, and the Aspen Music School. Enjoyment of these and other performance groups await the viewer of this award winning documentary.
“Aspen,” distributed world-wide by the United States Information Agency, was part of the “Ahora” television series that ran weekly on networks in the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America. This film’s purpose was to depict the creativity and innovation of the American people and help dispel a notion held in some other nations that our people were solely materialistic and unappreciative of serious music and the performing arts.
Gemini Productions of New York joined the USIA creative production team, headed up by Executive Producer Ashley Hawken, to weave a seamless cinematic web of great performances, mixed with scenes of daily life in this iconic town that, in spite of its erudition, still holds onto its Western tradition of openness and hospitality.
For a half hour, put yourself onto the joyous streets of Aspen and take a seat in one of its concert halls to participate in one of the great summer art venues to be found in the USA.
Credits for “Aspen” can be accessed here.
Fabulous Ash!