Two West Virginia University faculty members have been invited to perform Aug. 19 at St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London as part of the churchs prestigious Lunchtime Concert Series.

Flutist Francesca Arnone and pianist Christine Kefferstan will present a recital sampling of 20th-century North American works. The concert will feature works by composers Aaron Copland, Robert Muczynski, Nancy Galbraith, Srul Irvin Glick and Paul Hayden.

St. Martin-in-the-Fields has welcomed talented musicians to perform in Lunchtime Concerts for more than 50 yearsfrom highly acclaimed young soloists and choirs from all over the world to promising new ensembles and established professionals.

To its audiences, which regularly number 300 and above, these concerts are an opportunity to hear top-quality music at one of Londons most renowned and best-loved venues. For musicians, the concerts provide a highly sought-after opportunity to perform at a central London platform in front of a discriminating audience. To have played at St. Martin-in-the-Fields is an important step in ones musical career.

Arnone, assistant professor of flute, is a member of the Laureate Wind Quintet and director of the WVU Flute Choir. She earned flute performance degrees from Oberlin, the San Francisco Conservatory and the University of Miami.

She served as principal flutist of the Boise Philharmonic for four seasons and has played piccolo with the Palm Beach Opera Orchestra since 1997. Prior to this, she was co-principal flutist and piccolo specialist of the Orquesta Sinfnica de la Universidad de Guanajuato in Mexico. She has performed with the Florida Philharmonic, Florida West Coast Symphony, Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Missouri Chamber Orchestra and Orquesta Sinfnica de Tenerife in Spain, among others. She has been both a flute and piccolo concerto soloist in the United States and Mexico.

Kefferstan, professor of piano, maintains an active performing career as soloist, chamber musician and accompanist. She was recently featured as solo artist at the National Institute of Culture and History in Belize City, Belize; on the Stifel Fine Arts Series, Wheeling; the Silver Series, Plymouth, N.H.; and the Steinway Society Series in Pittsburgh.

A graduate of the University of Cincinnatis College-Conservatory of Music, Kefferstan studied with Israeli pianist David Bar-Illan and has had additional coaching with Russian pianists Sedmara Rutstein and Viachaslov Gabrielov. As a founding member of the Sarasvati Trio, her ensemble was featured on the Cincinnati Taft Chamber Series in April 2007.

The concept of a Lunchtime Concert Series was developed by Dame Myra Hess during World War II, when all performances of live music in England ceased to exist. Determined to bring art to the people, Hess inaugurated a series of concerts given during the lunch hour. The series first began at the National Gallery, whose collection was relocated for safekeeping during the Blitz.

This tradition lives today in an international network of churches, museums and other venues providing a lunch hour respite for the mind and soul. In England, the most prestigious London version of Lunchtime Concert takes place every Monday, Tuesday and Friday at 1 p.m. in the Royal Parish Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square.

More on the Net: http://www2.stmartin-in-the-fields.org/page/home/home.html