When most people think of a string quartet, they are reminded of famous classical musicians like Mozart, Bach or Beethoven. According to the members of the Lucido Felice String Quartet, its music follows a different style.

This self-assembled group of students plays its own list of classics, including “Stairway to Heaven,” “The Macarena” and the “Super Mario Brothers” theme song.

The Lucido Felice String Quartet, literally meaning “shiny happy string quartet,” is composed of four members: Koji Yabumoto, Elise Meichels, Chase Moore and Ken Chang.

For the first time, this group of University of Wisconsin students is taking its instruments to play on State Street. According to the quartet, not only their musical talents distinguish them.

“What really makes us unique is what we affectionately call our ‘other’ repertoire,” Chang said.

Chang, one of the group’s three violinists, also arranges the music the quartet members perform.

The quartet described the unique origins of their group.

“It all started when we were raising money for the Salvation Army by bell ringing,” Moore said. “Bell ringing got old, so we started holding doors for people, [then] we started playing music in the malls to raise money, and people really liked that.”

Since then, the quartet has played in many Madison-area malls and hospitals. According to the group, its has also been featured at campus-area house parties and has since taken its musical styling to State Street.

All four of the musicians who play in the quartet said they take great pleasure in the music they perform.

Meichels said playing with the group is a good way to branch away from more traditional forms of music. By doing so, she said she feels her love of music growing even stronger.

“When you are a music major like me, it’s especially important that you don’t lose your appreciation for music, because that’s what you’re going to be doing for the rest of your life,” Meichels said.

According to the members, the majority of earnings brought in by the quartet’s performances (which range anywhere between 50 to 100 dollars per hour) do not end up in the musician’s pockets.

“Overall, most of our money goes to local charities,” said Yabumoto, the quartet’s cellist.

Chang said the group often sends the money to organizations like the Salvation Army and United Cerebral Palsy.

Though members said they enjoy playing for the State Street crowd, all of them agree that their outdoor season is quickly coming to an end.

“It’s getting too cold to play outside,” Moore said. “Also, it takes us a long time to get set up, because we have so much equipment to lug around.”

In the weeks to come, the Lucido Felice String Quartet will head into the hospitals and malls of Madison to raise money for charities. And, according to Meichels, they plan on making another one of their late-night visits to the Open Pantry to play a bout of hoedown music.

The members of the quartet said people from all walks of life should take time to appreciate music.

“Music is good for the soul — it’s like feeding ducks,” Chang remarked.