French music spanning three centuries will be performed during a concert featuring violinist Mihai Craioveanu of the Hope College music faculty on Monday, March 26, at 7:30 p.m. in the Concert Hall of the college’s Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts.

The public is invited. Admission is free.

Craioveanu created the program of French music composed for or arranged for violin, from Baroque, Romantic and Impressionistic time periods, to pieces from opera and film, to jazz. The result is a concert of masterpieces from across 300 years representing many genres and styles.  Titled “The French Connection,” the program will feature Craioveanu accompanied by several guest artists and Hope music faculty members.

The concert will feature “Sonata in D Major for violin and harpsichord,” by Jean Marie Leclair; “Violin Sonata in A Major,” by Cesar Franck; “Beau Soir,” by Claude Debussy; “Piece in form of Habanera,” by Joseph Maurice Ravel; “Carmen,” by Georges Bizet; “Faust,” by Charles Gounod; “Tales of Hoffmann,” by Jacques Offenbach; “Shadows of Paris,” by Henry Mancini; and “Minor Swing,” by Django Reinhart and Stephane Grapelli.

Craioveanu, a professor of violin in the Department of Music at Hope, has been hailed by the prestigious magazine The Strad as “stunning... brilliant.” Renowned pianist Radu Lupu and violinist Jamie Laredo have  described him as “very impressive,” and a “superb violinist.”

In addition to his collegiate teaching, Craioveanu has performed sold-out concerts in legendary venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York City, Palau de la Musica in Barcelona and Atheneum Hall in Bucharest. He has been invited to present lectures, concerts, master classes and judge competitions at regional and national conferences of the American String Teachers Association and Music Teachers National Association.

The guest artists and Hope music faculty members who will be accompanying Craioveanu include singer Edith Hyde; Michael Hyde, guitar; Irina Kats, piano; Huw Lewis, harpsichord; Jared DeMeester, string bass; Nate Roberts, guitar; and Michael Schaeffer, accordion.

The Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts is located at 221 Columbia Ave., between Ninth and 10th streets.