The MozART group just wants to have fun

Members will play classical music at 3 p.m. Sunday in McNeese’s F.G. Bulber Auditorium, but they will include a healthy dose of clowning around. In fact, the concert is really a musical cabaret. There will be laughter.

The foursome is composed of educated instrumentalists who graduated from the prestigious Academies of Music in Warsaw and Lodz, Poland, but they soon decided they just couldn’t take themselves too seriously.

“We exist despite the sober formality of great concert halls, despite the boredom of classical musicians’ life, despite fanatic lovers of classical music, despite fans of rock, rap or pop who are afraid of classical music,” according to Filip Jaslar, first violin player. “We treat our Muse with a humorous irony, and we’re sure, she will have nothing against it.”

“The concert is a throwback to the old Victor Borge days,” said Mary Richardson, director of the McNeese Banners Cultural Series. “The concerts we present in the series are all chosen by a dedicated committee of Lake Area citizens — and they were just about rolling on the floor when they watched this group.”

Snippets of the group are available on the Banners Series website at www.banners.org.

She added that the Banners Series seeks to bring performances to the community that parents and grandparents will be glad to bring their families to. “We want to support families,” Richardson said, “and this concert will please both the adults and the youngsters. The group has created a unique musical cabaret. The music — not the words — is what make you laugh. It’s irresistible.”

The musicians — Jaslar, second violinist Michal Sikorski, violist Pawel Kowaluk and cellist Bolek Blaszczyk — have been playing together since 1995. In their early days, they presented short musical jokes. These were so popular that by 1997 they had developed their first cabaret program, called “Mozart’s Still Alive.” Since then, they have given cabaret concerts throughout Europe, in Canada, the United States and in Asia.

The musicians are best known in Europe where they are frequent TV guests as well as the featured artists of international galas and concerts. The quartet has received sought-after prizes such as the Grand Prix of the XVIII Festival of Satire and Comedy in Lidzbark and the Bronze Penguin (“Pingwin z brazu”) Award, which is presented by the cabaret community of Zielona Gora, the informal capitol of Polish cabaret.

They have also collaborated with other artists, including Bobby McFerrin and the famous mime Irek Krosny.

The MozART Group has produced two DVDs, which were released in Poland with great success. More than 100,000 copies of “Best of MozART Group” have been sold.

The MozART Group is the second of 20 performances and lectures included in the Banners Series. Performances will continue through May 12. A brochure describing the various performances is available by calling the Banners office or going to the Banners website.

Tickets to the show are included in series memberships. A basic membership includes two tickets to all performances, plus seating in a reserved area and invitations to members-only receptions. Cost is $150. Memberships are available at www.banners.org or by calling the Banners Series office at 475-5123.

Individual tickets are $20 for adults and $5 for students. McNeese and Sowela students are admitted free with IDs. Tickets are available at the door or in advance at the Civic Center Box Office or at the Banners website.