Outside the studio, the Section Quartet has hit venues from small rock clubs to 10,000-seat stadiums, but the group hasn’t yet appeared in a symphonic pops ­concert. Perhaps it seems a bit silly to pit four musicians who can rock against 80 who can’t.

But why couldn’t orchestral players rock? The Section members insist that it has nothing to do with inherent limitations of string ­instruments; it’s all a matter of mind-set. To rock, classical players need to feel comfortable playing without music in front of them, imitating sounds they hear on the radio, coming up with original ideas, sounding scratchy if that’s what the music needs, playing without vibrato.

Katz thinks that playing rock has made her a more creative classical musician. “Once you loosen up and can feel the grooves, that helps you be freer with classical playing as well,” she says.

As for getting into rock rhythms and riffs, Gorfain cautions that this is something that can’t be taught; you have to absorb the idiom through constant listening. Dodd adds, “There are a lot of rhythms that you can tap out and they’ll be technically right, but they won’t have the right feel. That comes from the attack of the note, where you release, where you slide.”

And just how far does the rock ‘n’ roll mind-set extend to the Section Quartet’s personal behavior? Let’s just say that rock producer Linda Perry has experience handling this kind of musician.

“They crack me up,” she says. “I just finished working on a Courtney Love record, and she’s Miss Rock ‘n’ Roll, if you know what I mean. Well, then the Section Quartet comes here and trashes my studio worse than she does!”

Section Selections
If you just can’t wait to hear the Section Quartet’s upcoming Decca release, check out the band’s string-tribute recordings of these rockers: Radiohead (Strung Out on OK Computer and Enigmatic), the Smiths, the Cure, Tool (two volumes), Pink Floyd, Nine Inch Nails, Incubus, Eric Clapton, Coldplay, the Who, Led Zeppelin (two volumes), Björk, Enya, and Alanis Morissette. Also look for rock collections no electricity required and Lizards Like Us.

The group has also appeared on numerous other albums (including Kelly Clarkson’s Thankful, Christina Aguilera’s Stripped and Back to Basics, and Grant-Lee Phillips’s Virginia Creeper). For a complete discography and more, visit www.thesectionquartet.com.