Barbara Calvin and Janet Harriman will present a little history and a little harp music Saturday, as part of a Summit Arts Exhibit Committee special event.

Calvin, a National Repertory Orchestra (NRO) board member, will talk for about 15 minutes on how the NRO formed and developed. She’ll include fun little stories, such as how the NRO began as the Blue Jeans Symphony in Estes Park because the organization didn’t have money to buy dressy clothes for the musicians. In fact, it didn’t have money to pay for room and board, so musicians had to bus tables or clean rooms in order to fund their summer stay.

“I guess you could say it started on a shoestring and a prayer,” Calvin said.

After a brief review of the NRO’s history, Calvin will update guests on the future of the NRO.

“From here, we’re hoping to increase a bit of our presence on the flats of Denver,” she said, adding that the NRO hopes to schedule one or two concerts, in addition to its annual performance in Evergreen, along the Front Range.

Another new development in the NRO is Friends of the NRO, which has committed to hosting one fundraising event per month throughout the year. The group started with a dinner at Le Petit Paris in Breckenridge, and on Dec. 2, it will host a wine pairing dinner at the Blue River Bistro. Other events include concerts with returning alumni, paired with tasty desserts or appetizers. (For more information, call the NRO to get on its mailing list, at (970) 453-5825.)

Harriman, who performed in the NRO in 1987, will perform a few pieces and talk about her rather unique instrument, the harp, for about 20 minutes Saturday. She’ll touch upon how the harp is a little problematic to perform on, because harpists are constantly changing the seven pedals, which alters the pitch of the strings – if the pedals aren’t set correctly, everything sounds wrong. Another persnickety aspect of the harp involves pulling the strings against gravity, whereas most instruments go with gravity. But Harriman persists – and even teaches harp students locally – because she loves the versatility of the instrument, which is used in orchestras, bands, operas, duos, chamber ensembles, and, of course, solo.