A Mississippi Delta couple is launching their first Recital Arts Series. The musical program kicks off Tuesday at the Chapel of the Cross Episcopal Church in Rolling Fork.

If you go

The Recital Arts Series will kick off at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Chapel of the Cross Episcopal Church, 25 McLaurin Ave., Rolling Fork. The next concert will be Nov. 3, with other performances to be announced later. A reception will follow each recital. Admission is free, and organizers are seeking more artists to perform. Call the Rev. Ed Lundin or his wife, Fonda, at 662-873-2226.

The Rev. Ed Lundin and his wife, Fonda, decided to create the series to offer an art presence in the area.

“When we moved up here, we noticed this area is under-served in the arts because we’re in the rural part of the Delta,” said Fonda Lundin. “I wanted something here. I used to work at William Carey University (in Hattiesburg) in the music department, and I miss the music.”

The concert series will begin with Millsaps College voice instructor James Martin and pianist David O’Steen, and will run into next spring.

Martin, a baritone, will perform classical and spiritual works. He has a bachelor’s degree in music from Illinois Wesleyan University and a master’s in music from the Juilliard School, where he was also part of the Juilliard Opera Center.

O’Steen, who has played the piano since he was 3 years old, is a private piano and voice instructor in Jackson and serves as principal parish musician for St. Philip’s Episcopal Church. He is the chair of the Diocesan Music and Liturgy Committee, chorus master for the Mississippi Opera, accompanist for the Mississippi Chorus and staff accompanist for the Mississippi Conference on Church Music and Liturgy.

O’Steen has a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from the University of Southern Mississippi, where he was the winner of the Mississippi Music Teachers Association’s Piano Concert Competition. He has a master’s degree in piano performance and vocal performance from the University of Alabama.

Each concert will begin at 7 p.m., and a nursery is provided. A meet-the-artists reception will follow in the parish hall. 

The next recital will be Nov. 3 with Barry Haus performing. Other performance dates will be set later.

The Lundins are also seeking other artists who would like to perform.

“If someone is interested, we would like to host them,” said Fonda Lundin. “I would love to have an oboist or a flutist — all different types of music.”

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Contact Manivanh  Chanprasith at mchan@vicksburgpost.com