Lindsay Mac has gracefully turned her classical orchestral training sideways.

“I’ve seen cellists do some wild stuff,” she said. “But no strumming and singing.”

In essence, Mac plays her cello like a guitar. The musician will rock out on her classical instrument at the Englert Theatre, 221 E. Washington St., at 7:30 p.m. today. Admission is $20 for adults and $10 for students.

“While I was developing my technique, I wasn’t even trying to do anything different,” she said. “I was just following my inner muse.”

Her inner muse has taken her from her roots in Iowa City to Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., where she studied medicine.

“At some point, I looked around my 200-person bio class, and I thought to myself, ‘I want music to be my career,’ ” she said.

Mac feels her Iowa City show is one that’s bigger than herself. Around 60 pieces bigger, to be precise. Tonight, she is bridging her past in Iowa City to her present as a successful singer/songwriter by collaborating with her former music teacher, Candace Wiebener, to incorporate high-school musicians from both the Preucil School of Music and City High into her performance. She hopes the collaboration will showcase all the different ways music can become a career.

“You could say it’s a way of giving back,” she said. “Although it really looks like they’re giving to me.”

Englert Theatre CEO Sean Fredericks said he is excited about tonight’s show because he doesn’t know quite what to expect.

“Adding the orchestra elements will be a totally different vibe, but one that is perfectly suited for the type of space we have here,” he said.

Many of tonight’s songs will be from Mac’s latest album, Stop Thinking, one she said was born out of anxious periods and sleepless nights; it deals with everything from love to worldly concerns.

“It’s actually a surprisingly happy album,” she said. “I guess I’m just not tortured enough. Just wait until I’m 31.”