Traveling Canadian harpist to perform at Arsaga's Cafe tonight
Brady Tackett
Issue date: 4/3/09 Section: Lifestyles
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"I send harps through the mail to avoid getting them searched," said Morganfield. "It takes a while to search a harp. I actually have a few of them scattered over North America so I can avoid having to travel with them.
Morganfield, who has played the harp for about 20 years, began as a student of vocal performance.
"I love to sing," she said. "That's why I do this. But I'm not just a singer/songwriter; I'm also a composer."
Morganfield's versatility has provided her some interesting musical opportunities, including singing lead in a bluegrass group in Japan.
"I was an undergraduate at the time, and I went to study Japanese and anthropology," Morganfield said. "I didn't stay for very long, but I got in the bluegrass band while I was living there."
The harpist's talent seems to know no international boundaries, as Morganfield's work displays a surplus of cultural influence. She calls her music "Neoceltic," and she has toured everywhere in North America and through Europe, according to her Web site. In 1992, Morganfield won Ireland's O'Carolan Competition with original compositions for harp and voice.
"Playing the harp quickly, in the Celtic tradition, is very tricky," Morganfield said. "After you pull a string, you have to either get out of its way and let it ring or mute it with your hands."
But Morganfield's talent hasn't made her aloof.
"I prefer collaborations; I just love for people to sing with me," she said. "Sometimes I'll play at farmer's markets and little kids will just gather around me and start to dance. Some of my biggest fans are 2-feet tall."
The harpist typically performs in intimate venues, such as churches, and accepts donations during performances.
Morganfield is also a huge proponent of music's therapeutic value. The harpist has a masters' degree in health education and regularly plays for hospital patients, a practice she calls "bedside harping."
"I do it for anyone who is soothed by the harp, not just the dying," Morganfield said. "Once, a patient began to have an asthma attack while I was playing. I started to play very slowly, in sync with her breaths, and her breathing gradually slowed to normal."
Morganfield's latest album, The Other Side of Now, is far away from her recent Neoceltic works. It's a return to her bluegrass roots as the artist comes full circle.
Morganfield will perform 9 p.m. tonight at Arsaga's Café on Gregg Street.
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