Library associate Lyle Tate is no stranger to the performing arts. As an 11-year veteran of the Starkville Community Theater, he has performed, directed and served as stage manager in numerous productions.
While working as special events coordinator for MSU Libraries, however, it was the up-tempo beat of ragtime music that "struck a chord" with the amateur entertainer.
Since 2007, Tate has been an integral part of planning the annual Templeton Ragtime Jazz Festival, which features renowned performers of the music that defined the early 1900s.
The unique festival—the only one of its kind in the southeastern United States—has given him the opportunity to appreciate the distinctiveness of the music, as well as the tremendous talents of the artists who perform it.
"Ragtime is such a fun and exciting style of music and the performers are amazingly talented," Tate said. "It has been very rewarding to be a part of bringing this music and the artists to the area and giving people an opportunity to experience a very important part of American musical history in such an intimate way."