BROWNSVILLE – When someone usually sees a group of musicians with a violin, a cello or any other string instrument, they will more than likely think that they play classical music.

Which is probably true, but listen to Dr. Katy Ducker and some of her former students perform together and you could hear a slightly different sound.

Ducker, a university professor, along with the group, have played pop songs in classical arrangements in different venues throughout the lower Valley to raise money to attend the Music in the Mountains – Classical Music Festival and Conservatory.

“It’s not our usual cup of tea. It’s true we play a lot of classical, but we just got together for fun. So, we thought we’d play stuff that we enjoy listening to everyday and that everybody else listens to every day,” said Ducker.

“It’s amazing. People respond so well to the pop music being played as classical,” said John Hunter, a string musician. “Expose the audience to classical music, as well as pop music, in a string setting.”

Christian Martinez-Vega, another string musician, expressed his reason for playing, “I came to this profession for a reason, right? I know there’s a lot of competition, but just because of the love of the profession, you’ve got to put some of your soul into it.”

“There’s not a lot of string programs, though it’s something the people want and it’s pretty awesome that we found a niche. That we’re wanted and people seek us out,” said Victor Flores, a string musician.

It’s a fun group giving the style of classical music a custom tuning.                               

You can catch Con Mi Gente segments Tuesdays and Thursdays on CHANNEL 5 NEWS THIS MORNING and CHANNEL 5 NEWS at 5.