By MICHAEL BOYLAN
Weekend Editor

Spivey Hall on the campus Of Clayton State College & University will play host to two rising stars and a highly regarded veteran in the classical music scene this weekend.

Saturday, flutist Emmanuel Pahud and pianist Eric LeSage will perform an all French program, and classical guitarist Manuel Barrueco will play Sunday.

Pahud and LeSage have performed and recorded together many times. The show, cosponsored by the Swiss and French consulates and the Alliance Francaise d'Atlanta, will consist of four pieces by Claude Debussy, two by Francois Poulenc, and one each by Pierre Sancan and Cesar Franck. Pahud, of Swiss and French descent, started his six-year tenure as principal flutist of the Berlin Philharmonic at the age of 23. He is noted for stretching the capabilities of his instrument and has been dubbed the “new flute sensation” by the New York Times.

LeSage is regarded as one of the most original young representatives of the French school of pianism. He is a noted interpreter of Schumann and has captured several awards, namely the Choc de Monde de la Musique and the Diapara D'Or.

The two musicians are most famous, though, for their work together. The performance begins at 8 p.m. and tickets are $25.

Sunday's performance by Manuel Barrueco will be a very special show. Barrueco is a classical guitarist with taste and talent so deep and versatile that it is unfair to pigeonhole him into one style. Barrueco has recorded pieces by Bach and Mozart, as well as pieces by Lennon and McCartney. His new disc, “Cuba!,” celebrates the music of his homeland.

Barrueco was born in Cuba in 1952 and started playing guitar at age 8. He began his studies at the Esteban Salas Conservatory in Santiago, Cuba. In 1967 his family moved to the United States and he completed his studies at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. It was not until 1974 that Barrueco made his debut, though, and what better place to make it than Carnegie Hall in New York.

Since that first performance at Carnegie Hal, Barrueco has recorded many CD's, working with great jazz musicians like Stanley Clarke and Chick Corea, and yet still feeling at home with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Recently, Barrueco has been seen in a Lexus commercial, as the guitarist playing and recording in the back seat of the speeding car.

In addition to his performing career, Barrueco also finds time to teach. He teaches at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University and offers masters clsses at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

The performance will begin at 3 p.m Sunday, Nov. 7. Tickets are $40 and $30. For ticket information, phone 770-961-3683.

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