Edmond Life and Leisure - March 14, 2024

Harpist to present concert in loft of Arcadia Round Barn

Harpist Jessica Tate will fulfill a lifelong wish with a concert at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 30, in the loft of the Arcadia Round Barn.

“I’m from Oklahoma and have been going to the Round Barn since I was a little girl,” said Tate, who lives in Oklahoma City. “I remember being a little girl standing in the middle of the loft and clapping. I always wondered what it would be like to play up there.”

Tate said her father started taking her to the barn in the 1990s, soon after it was restored and opened as a museum.

Tate will present a concert of folk, Americana, Bluegrass and Celtic music, including some of her original compositions. She will sing and accompany herself on a traditional folk harp.

“That’s a lever instrument, which is smaller and more lightweight than my pedal harp,” Tate said. “It’s what I use for my traditional Celtic shows.”

Tate was 5 years old when she started taking harp lessons. She has been a working musician for 25 years, and for the last four years it has been her sole occupation. In addition to her solo performances, she leads an eight-piece ensemble called the Green Mystic Orchestra.

Take is also a jazz and blues artist.

“The harp is an instrument like any other, and it can be anything the player can make it,” she said.

Tate’s musical background includes engagements with orchestras, philharmonics and a variety of music venues domestically and internationally.

“Highlights include my time working with the Ritz-Carlton International group, and as a Jazz Ambassador for the U.S. Consulate in China,” Tate said.

Admission to the concert is free, but donations will be accepted for the maintenance of the barn, which was built in 1898 and is owned and operated by the nonprofit Arcadia Historical and Preservation Society.

The barn is six miles east of Interstate 35 on Historic Route 66 and is open every day from 10 a.m. to 5 pm.

For more information about live music at the barn, call Joe Baxter at 405-833-1350