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Ask Ward Purrington for a favorite memory of last year's inaugural season of Appalachian Institution retreats and he hears music.

The Appalachian String Ensemble was performing in the convocation hall at the Lake Logan retreat center near Canton in western North Carolina's Haywood County.

The room features "vaulted ceilings, is very modern and has great acoustics," Purrington recalls. "The nine-piece ensemble just made a terrific sound." Windows offered a view of the heavily wooded grounds, dappled with summer evening light and shadow.

The scene captured the essence of the Appalachian Institution's mission to present high culture in high country.

Purrington, a retired Raleigh lawyer, former legislator and state revenue secretary and patron of the arts, founded the Appalachian Institution in 2007 as a nonprofit educational corporation interested in expanding study, understanding and appreciation of western civilization and the challenges and opportunities confronting it in the 21st century.

For the second year, it's offering summer retreats for adults that feature challenging morning lectures by distinguished scholars and afternoon classes and activities in a variety of skills and disciplines, followed by evening cultural performances. Purrington describes the setting as one of "extraordinary natural beauty and warm hospitality. The objective is to create a community of classically aware scholars for the consideration of essential issues affecting the contemporary human condition."

Lake Logan, originally an executive retreat for Champion Paper, now is owned by the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina. Outdoor activities include boating, fishing, hiking, swimming, tennis and softball.

Intellectual pursuits might be more rigorous. This summer's sessions are:

l Aug. 3-7, "The Noble, the Good, and the Free: Western Ideals of Ethical Life," led by Michael A. Gillespie, professor of political science and philosophy at Duke University (see his article at right for an overview of this course).

l Aug. 9-13, "Islam and the West," led by Max L. Gross, retired dean of the School of Intelligence Studies at the National Defense Intelligence College.

l Aug. 24-28, "The Founding Fathers: What Were They Thinking?" led by Michael P. Zuckert, chairman of the Department of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame.

Later each day, participants can take classes in art appreciation, painting or foreign languages, or enjoy entertainment arranged by musical director Alfred Sturges. He's the full-time musical director of the North Carolina Master Chorale in Raleigh and has conducted performances in ballet, opera, symphony orchestra and other disciplines nationally and internationally.

Music at the Appalachian Institution ranges from classical to bluegrass.

The cost of attending a session is $956 per person double occupancy, $1,550 single. It covers all expenses except a fly-fishing guide and golf for those who choose those activities.

With enough participants to pay the bills, Purrington hopes to continue summer retreats and add fall and spring debates on timely issues between prominent scholars at locations around the southeastern United States.

He's also considering an "annual scholastic adventure trip, designed to take participants for in-depth study and a close-up encounter with important sites in the evolution of western civilization."

He envisions an Appalachian Fellows Program "with scholars who will address particular challenges and opportunities confronting western civilization for presentation and publication in scholarly journals."

The ultimate goal is to acquire and develop a permanent campus for residential programs in the North Carolina mountains. No better place, Purrington believes, to preserve the high ideals and lofty strains of western civilization.

Doug Clark is a News & Record editorial writer.