The third concert in the series of the Bir Miftuh Music Festival held annually by Din l-Art Helwa will be a string concert for violin, viola, and viola-d'amore, by Elizabeth Balmas and Pierre Henri Xuereb.

It will take place at the medieval chapel of Santa Marija ta' Bir Miftuh, on the outskirts of Gudja, on Saturday at 8 p.m.

The concert is sponsored by the French Embassy and the Alliance Francaise.

Ms Balmas, violin and viola, commenced her musical studies in Versailles at the age of four. As a soloist she has performed with the Radio-France Orchestra, the Zurich Tonhalle, the Cologne Gurzenich and Radio Frankfurt.

She has played post-romantic and contemporary concertos under the direction of eminent conductors such as Marek Janowski, John Pritchard, Michel Plasson and Gunther Herbig.

Mr Xuereb, viola and viola d'amore, is an international reputed viola player. He plays and teaches at international summer academies and festivals. He regularly takes part in television and radio broadcasts and has recorded numerous CDs. He is professor of viola at the Paris Conservatoire and at the Ecole Nationale de Musique in Gennevilliers.

Tickets at Lm7.50 may be obtained from Din l-Art Helwa, 133 Melita Street, Valletta , tel. 21220358, 21225952.

Proceeds from the event will go towards the upkeep and maintenance of the church of Bir Miftuh and towards Din l-Art Helwa's restoration projects.