After grabbing coffee at Federal Way’s B&R Espresso Bar, patrons have a good chance of leaving with a treat on top of the one they purchased: a live performance by a yet-to-be-named music group playing just outside the shop’s door.

Jean Balogh is on the flute, Anita Dizney plays the violin, and Anita’s son, Richard Dizney, brings his cello to life.

“This is a great community unifier,” Balogh said of the music. “It’s just a way for people to get together of all walks of life and express themselves and share what they have.”

Balogh said B&R Espresso owner Russhele Arreola, always a community advocate, welcomed the trio’s music. They began playing together at the shop in August and will continue to play outdoors as weather permits.

However, the group is open to playing other “venues” and has plans to break out their instruments at the Antique Sandwich Shop in Tacoma in a few weeks. They’ve also eyed Federal Way’s new Town Square Park.

“It’s a privilege to play with Anita and Richard because they’re so professional and highly qualified,” Balogh said. “That doesn’t do justice to their playing. They’re both very passionate about music and I just hear it in the sound and our blend is really nice.”

Most of the pieces they play are classical numbers from the likes of Joseph Haydn, who wrote for small ensembles. Scottish folk tunes can also make an appearance.

Balogh hopes to incorporate newer pieces, like 21 Pilots songs, as they continue to grow their sound.

“What would happen if we put that into violin and cello?” she asked. “21 Pilots is an alternative band; they cross everything. My goal is to have it so that anyone might recognize something that we play and then also share the classical repertoire, because that’s very powerful as well.”

Balogh and the Dizneys work together at the Federal Way School of Music. Anita and Richard Dizney also work for Dizney Music Studio, a studio started by Richard Dizney’s sister.

“It’s nice to take it from just enjoying the music by ourselves at the Federal Way School of Music after hours or in-between lessons or whatever to basically just doing the same thing here, where people can enjoy it with us,” Richard Dizney said of B&R Espresso.

And while the group eventually hopes to organize as a business and play weddings and other events, Richard Dizney also hopes to do more.

“Maybe we can inspire somebody to start an instrument or pick up an instrument they haven’t played for a while,” he said. “I’ve talked to a lot of parents who played when they were in high school and haven’t played for many years.”

Anita Dizney had a similar experience.

After playing violin throughout her youth and college years, Anita Dizney took a break to go into the Air Force, where she would meet her husband, settle down and have children.

“She didn’t play the violin for many years, and when she started up again she played for the Federal Way Philharmonic a few years,” Richard Dizney said. “She started teaching and has had some ups and downs for her health. She had to quit, but she’s always come back to it.”

Balogh said music, for her, is therapeutic, as she too suffers from health issues, specifically lupus.

“One time we were going to rehearsal and I had to go home to get my flute, and I was looking kind of ‘blah’…” she said. “I was stressed out and I came back, and Anita was like, ‘Did you take medicine? Did you take a pill?’ I was like, ‘Nope, I have my flute.'”

Balogh and Richard Dizney tout the many benefits of making music, saying such benefits are why it’s so important for public schools not to lose sight of music education.

“It seems like whenever there’s a budget cut they cut music and art, and to me, music uses all parts of the brain and has been shown to help people learn math and learn how to speak better,” she said. “It’s so helpful, and I love math, don’t get me wrong, but there’s a real tunnel vision on STEM.”

Balogh said scientific thought is also a creative process, and she thinks cutting the arts stunts student growth in all subject areas.

Even so, the two teach adults as well as children and believe it’s never too late to learn. Richard Dizney’s oldest student is 65, while Balogh has a 33-year-old student she thinks should play professionally.

Balogh received her Bachelor of Arts in music from Washington State University. She said she got involved in the music industry because she “essentially grew up poor.” Practicing her flute five hours a day left no time to get into trouble, a contrast with several of her family members who did drugs.

“I just sort of grew a passion out of that for all kinds of music, from Metallica to Brahms and anywhere in between,” she said. “Even now, in my family – I’m a single mom – it’s still really important that we’re into music as well.”

Balogh has lived in Federal Way since 2003 and has two daughters, one who plays the flute and one who plays the trumpet.

Richard Dizney said he grew up in Federal Way and has “early musical memories” of his mom playing Mozart or Bach while walking up and down the halls after his bedtime. While he took piano lessons and learned how to play the cello when he was 19, most of his experience with music comes from writing arrangements for the orchestra of his church, Trinity Baptist Church in Renton.

“As part of that, I learned how to play as much as I could,” he said. “Other people in the orchestra would yell at me because I was giving them parts they couldn’t play. That was one of my hobbies: Learning to play whatever anybody would let me borrow.”

A music teacher for more than 15 years, Anita Dizney has played in the Trinity Baptist Orchestra, the Boeing Orchestra, the Federal Way Philharmonic, and various pit orchestras for musicals in high school and college.

The community can expect their next performance to be at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 9, at the Antique Sandwich Shop, located at 5102 N. Pearl St. in Tacoma.