There are very few places in the world, if any, where aficionados of chamber music can hear the trumpet, percussion, clarinet and piano perform as part of a cohesive unit, but on Thursday, May 1, the McNeese State University department of performing arts will present Pastiche, an internationally acclaimed quartet of virtuoso musicians, in a free concert at Ralph Squires Hall.

Pastiche is comprised of clarinetist Jan Scott, pianists Lina Morita and Fred Sahlmann, percussionist Lonny Benoit, and trumpeter Dave Scott.

“When we started in 1995 our main goal was to have friends get together to make music,” said Dave Scott, trumpet instructor at McNeese. “But there were and are very few pieces written for this combination.”

Because of that, Pastiche’s repertoire includes 60 pieces commissioned specifically for the group, such as “Four by Four,” by David Stock and “Dialogue and Dance,” by Stefan Freund, both of which will premiere locally at the May 1 concert. The program also includes “Partly Sunny,” by Douglas Minerd and “Quatuor de Ballet” by Nico Schuyt.

The program will also introduce Morita on piano. Morita, a new member of the McNeese faculty, has previously performed at the Church of Epiphany Concert Series in Washington, Hochstein School Performance School in New York, Bertramka Hall in the Czech Republic, the Académie Internationale Musicale in France and the Sociedade Brasileira de Cultura Japonesa in Brazil. She will trade duties with Sahlmann.

Because of the unique instrumental combination of Pastiche, Morita said her biggest challenge as a new member of the group was “maintaining balance.”

“The piano is a big instrument and can produce a lot of sound, but the percussion and trumpet are also very powerful,” Morita said. “It’s been a great experience. The group was together so long before I came along that they knew what to expect from each other. When a new personality is brought into the group, it changes the product in interesting ways.”

Dave Scott said the range of Pastiche’s sound is so varied that people are often surprised that only four people are playing.

“There are only four of us, but we take up the entire stage,” he said.

One of their most faithful fans was Sarah Spencer, a local piano teacher who died in March. “Partly Sunny” was her favorite Pastiche song, so they have dedicated its performance to her.

They will also perform the Louisiana premiere “Four by Four,” which Morita describes as “a dialogue between all the instruments, with a thundering piano that comes to the floor.”

According to Sahlmann, “Four by Four” is unique because it “treats the piano as if it were a percussion instrument.”

They will also locally premiere “Dialogue and Dance,” which Jan Scott describes as “a slow dialogue that goes into a funk sound.”

Since its inception in 1995, Pastiche has been acclaimed for its intriguing and collaborative programming and has been the recipient of several endowments. The group has recorded with Innova and Centaur Records.