For those seeking to soak in some soothing vibes at the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, the group Tr-HANDS-formation offers some relief.

"Hopefully the energy we send out to the world and the people in it is healing energy," group member Jennifer Bittner said.

"What we hope to do is be able to create some peace in the world."

The group is made up of local residents Chris Bittner, Jennifer Bittner, Marty Gillespie, Cathy Herrera and Carol Lindsay and is aimed at healing audiences both locally and beyond.

The name Tr-HANDS-formation is dual-purpose.

Pronounced "transformation," the name incorporates the word "hands" for their percussive sound and the word "transformation" because of the change they wish to make in the world.

The group features instruments from around the world in an attempt to heal it.

"We take instruments from all around the world and we play them together in one piece," Herrera added.

"If the instruments can play together, maybe the countries they come from can also make beautiful music together."

While their aim is well planned out, their music is not the same way.

Their style is often improvised -- created in the moment rather than following strict notation.

Gillespie said that the music they play at their concerts follows more of an idea than a specific chord progression.

More often, Gillespie said, the group will adopt an even more free-form style.

"We are simply going to start. We have no idea what we're going to do," Gillespie said, explaining the band's style for how it would perform some songs.

"It's happened for a good while now -- more recently. We keep getting better and better at it."

Herrera said that a significant portion of the inspiration comes from the audience.

She said that creating the music incorporates a great deal of different energy.

"It takes the energy in the audience and the energy that you carry in yourself," she said.

Gillespie said that another way they interact with their audience is through the healing energy they send out.

"It's not something that you convey, necessarily, directly through music. It's more like the energy you create," Gillespie said.

"Once you create that energy, it just kind of goes where it needs to and does what it needs to do," he continued.

For skeptics of the healing ability of music, Herrera said that there have been shows where audience members have come up to them afterwards.

Group members were told that some audience members' feelings of pain were alleviated during the group's set, she said.

"People really respond wonderfully to music," Herrera said. "They really get a kick out of it."