Classical guitarist Christopher Parkening will join the Scottish Chamber Orchestra at 8 tonight in Eisenhower Auditorium in a special musical presentation.

Ken Foster, director of the Center for the Performing Arts, said the concert will be unique because the guitar is not usually used with an orchestra.

"I think it's an interesting combination, one that people will like," Foster said.

Parkening, who has studied with the legendary classical guitarist Andres Segovia, played last spring at a sold-out Schwab Auditorium concert.

Even though Eisenhower is a fairly large hall for chamber music, Foster said chamber groups have performed there in the past and there should not be a problem with acoustics. He said Eisenhower was needed to accommodate a larger audience and the 30-member ensemble.

The orchestra, led by Finnish conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste, will present a varied program beginning with Stravinsky's "Concerto in E-flat for Chamber Orchestra." Then, Parkening will be featured on Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez."

The concert will close with Beethoven's "Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36," a piece WPSU's classical music director Bob Cole said is underrated and not often heard. "I think it's a very important symphony for us to listen to."

He said it is good that the program consists of contrasting pieces because the audience can hear the styles of different composers and how well the orchestra can play them.

The Scottish Chamber Orchestra, which was founded in 1974, is currently on an 18-concert tour of the United States that will culminate in a performance at Carnegie Hall -- part of the Hall's 100th anniversary celebration.

Saraste, the ensemble's principal conductor, was appointed to this position in 1987. In the same year, he became principal conductor of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, with which he toured Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

With the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Saraste has toured Finland and appeared at several British festivals.

Parkening, who is joining the orchestra on its tour, has performed as a recitalist and with many of the world's leading orchestras. He has earned two Grammy nominations and was invited to perform at the White House in 1988.

Cole said Parkening's playing is reminiscent of Segovia's but that "you cannot mistake the two." He also said Parkening is "stange" in the sense that he began playing the guitar at an extremely early age, which is unusual for most virtuoso guitarists.

Taylor Greer, assistant professor of music, will discuss the concert's program at 7 p.m. in the Eisenhower Greenroom as part of the "Artistic Viewpoints" lecture series.

Although two of the three pieces are concertos, they are different in style, Greer said. In his lecture, he will compare and contrast the composers' different approaches to the medium.

Greer said Stravinsky and Rodrigo are considered neo-classical composers, 20th-century composers who borrow elements from 18th-century traditions but do not completely imitate them.