It has played for the Pope.

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, from London, is not something just anyone gets the chance to hear every day. Penn State students, however, will get that opportunity 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Eisenhower Auditorium.

The Orchestra's stop at Penn State is a part of its North American tour, which began Feb. 7 in Sarasota, Fla., and will end Feb. 18 in New York.

"This concert should prove to be a very enjoyable evening for even the beginning classical music listener," Center for the Performing Arts spokeswoman Laura Sullivan said. "We're expecting one of our largest crowds for orchestral music."

Created in 1946 by Sir Thomas Beecham, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra has gained international recognition. It began when Beecham wanted to create a group of the finest musicians in all of England.

Students can mainly expect pieces from Johannes Brahms and Ludwig van Beethoven. Faculty members, including music professor Richard Green, believe the concert will be exciting.

"It's a top-class professional orchestra, we don't get too many chances to see that," Green said. "They're a world-class orchestra playing very significant pieces from Western tradition."

Music professor Cook Kim shared Green's excitement.

"It'll be a great concert," he said.

Conductor Daniele Gatti, a pianist and violinist native of Milan, Italy, has been renowned as "the foremost conductor of his generation," according to the Orchestra's Web site.

Headlining the concert is Garrick Ohlsson, an American pianist, who will be featured as a soloist for Brahm's "Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, op. 83." Ohlsson, who began studying at The Juilliard School at age 13, was the first American to win the Chopin International Piano Competition.

Green talked about who would be interested in the concert.

"Because of the literature they're performing, it should attract anyone who has an interest in music in general," he said.

Green also said he tends to see all students, whether they are in science-related or arts-related majors, just as interested in this kind of classical music.

"It's a really good opportunity for our students," Green said.

General admission tickets are available for $42 or $35; tickets for University Park students are $22 or $17; tickets for ages 18 and under are $26 or $19.