Bringing classical arts to mainstream rock music by using instruments not typical in the current rock era is the focus of Classical Blast.

Vocalist and guitarist Javier Martin Lopez, violinist Jimmy Chaos, cellist Petar Kecenovici, bassist Bill Syniar and drummer David Kelly perform “From Bach to Rock: A Musical Metamorphosis” on Thursday for the Summer Concert Series at Joliet Area Historical Museum’s rooftop in Joliet.

“You’ll hear a little bit of something that’s from ‘Sarabande,’ and then, all of a sudden, we’ll drift into ‘In the Air Tonight’ by Phil Collins,” Syniar said via phone from his Oak Park home.

“The strings make everything so beautiful. I see people have tears in their eyes while we’re doing certain sections. Some parts are so dramatic. Even though I know it’s coming, I just feel this adrenaline rush going through me.

“Not only are the cellist and violinist doing their thing, but they’re doing it through effects, so they might have distortion and display different sounds through the instruments that you don’t normally hear when you hear a symphony orchestra.”

Syniar is no stranger to rock, having written music for the Doobie Brothers, former Kansas vocalist Steve Walsh and members of the band Toto. Syniar also performed on albums and toured internationally with the band Survivor, known for the hit “Eye of the Tiger” from the “Rocky III” movie.

“As soon as you walk out on the stage, the crowd goes crazy,” Syniar said about working with Survivor, which included appearing on the “Too Hot to Sleep” and “Greatest Hits” albums as well as the single and video for “Didn’t Know It Was Love.”

“Playing the bigger stages and the bigger gigs always felt really good. Everybody likes most of Survivor’s music. Most of it is all happy, up-tempo stuff that always felt good. Working with the players in the band was nice. The travel wasn’t too bad since they’re a fairly big-name band.

“We were able to fly to gigs instead of taking a van. I would have a limo pick me up at my house and take me to the airport. Then we’d play our sets, and we’d have a big dinner in our dressing room. There were all these people who wanted to talk to us. It wasn’t too tough of a lifestyle.”

Performing with Classical Blast also has been rewarding for Syniar, who joined in 2013 after working on the band’s first album, “Classified,” and doing hospital performances with Kecenovici on cello and him on guitar for the Caring Arts Foundation.

Syniar’s volunteer work with the nonprofit that provides emotional support to Chicago-area cancer patients and their families inspired him to write the song “Beautiful.”

“These people we meet are dealing with horrific illness. With how much it’s affected them, they’re just so up and nice,” he said. “Considering what their deal is, it blows me away. Something kicks in, and it makes these people beautiful people.”

Much of “From Bach to Rock” is culled from Classical Blast’s “Metamorphosis,” which was released in 2015 and features classic rock songs mashed with popular classical pieces plus symphonic versions of rock songs and rocked classical pieces.

“We do these medleys that we don’t normally do when we’re playing our regular gigs,” said Syniar, who cited Classical Blast’s arrangement of Edvard Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King” and Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” as one of his favorites.

“The Joliet crowd just seemed to display their affection for us instantly. We have a blast there.”

Classical Blast, which performed at Joliet Public Library’s Star Wars Day, returns to the city for a 9 p.m. Sept. 1 gig at Hollywood Casino, 777 Hollywood Blvd., and later in the year for its annual “Dark Side of the Yule” concert at Joliet Area Historical Museum.

The band, which has performed the national anthem at Wrigley Field three times and recorded a new version of Steve Goodman’s “Go Cubs Go” as part of its 2015 “All-American Cubs” tribute EP, continues to craft new material.

“We are working on trying to write originals that are as good as the big hits we’re performing now. I don’t want to just do an OK original. I want to write something that people are going to like just as much,” Syniar said.

“We’re also in the process of putting more arrangements together.”

Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.