Pairing a rock band with an orchestra is always a tricky proposition that many of tried, but few have succeeded with. Acts ranging from the Moody Blues to Metallica to Kiss, and recently Sting, have all done high profile shows with symphonic accompaniment (and I’ll even throw in a dose of Yngwie Malmsteen for the truly brave among you). One has to wonder why audiences and artists subject themselves to a situation where the results are often mixed, and can go as low as being little more than pretentious gobbledygook.

“How are you going to say no when someone wants to arrange your tunes for an orchestra?,” asked Ozomatli saxophonist Ulises Bella during a recent interview with DCist. “You don’t say no to that shit.”

Hailing from L.A., Ozomatli was first formed in 1995 through connections each member had with the Peace and Justice Center of Los Angeles. Signaling a career where activism would be as important as music, the group’s first performance was for picketers on strike. Over the next 15 years, the group would go on to release five studio albums while going through several lineup changes. The multi-cultured layers to Ozomatli’s music also led to the U.S. State Department naming the group as cultural ambassadors, and the band has toured throughout the world in that capacity.

The band will bring its infectious blend of Latin infused hip-hop to the Kennedy Center‘s concert hall on Saturday, where the NSO Pops, conducted by Steven Reineke, will join the band. This is the third time the group will play in such a format, the first being a performance with the famed Boston Pops. For Bella, this relatively subdued setting was a familiar space.

“The formal setting wasn’t that intimidating,” said Bella. “The band, we grew up playing music in the public school systems. I was always involved in orchestras since I can remember.”

For these arrangements, the band takes the unplugged route, but aims for a quiet intensity that stays true to Ozomatli’s L.A. roots and works with the larger ensemble. While the band had to adjust to the older crowd that comes naturally with a concert hall performance, Bella hopes that his group will also bring something to the table in the form of a younger audience.

“Both times and both performances, we connected to the crowd one way or another,” Bella recalled. “I’m totally in favor of getting new blood into the concert halls, and they all want that too.”

Bella cited the days of when there was a true interaction between orchestra and audience, and hopes to recreate some of that atmosphere in a contemporary context.

“Back in the day, if Beethoven conducted something the audience liked, they would force him to play that shit again. That doesn’t go on anymore. It’s a way different environment,” explained Bella. “I don’t mind if people would start just dancing in the concert hall.”

Bella also feels that the performance will offer something for everyone, whether or not they are fans of the band.

“If you’re an Ozomatli fan, you probalby know this is something really special. This is something very rare and won’t be done for a very long time,” he said. “If you’re not an Ozomatli fan, I just hope you feel inspired and end up being interested in our music.”

Ozomatli will perform with the NSO Pops on Saturday, June 25, 2011, at 8 p.m. in the Kennedy Center‘s Concert Hall. Tickets are $20 to $65.