There is a certain something about sibling musical groups that often propels them into stardom.

The Jonas Brothers, The Jackson 5, even the fictional Partridge Family.

The same rings true for The 5 Browns, a piano-playing quintet of brothers and sisters from Utah. Their performances entice all ages and lovers of classical and non-classical music.

The group will bring their exciting show to Tacoma’s Pantages Theater on March 13, in a performance presented by Tacoma Philharmonic. The siblings will perform a selection of beloved piano repertoire, such as Frederic Chopin’s “Fantasie-Impromptu in C-sharp minor” and classical favorites specially arranged for the ensemble, including Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Fifth Symphony,” Sergei Rachmaninoff’s “Variations on a Theme of Paganini” and George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.”

The 5 Browns — Ryan, Melody, Gregory, Deondra and Desirae — are the sons and daughters of Keith and Lisa Brown, who wanted their Mormon children to have music in their lives. Each of the siblings began playing piano around age 3. As early as age 9 they had each made their debut with a major symphony orchestra.

“Our mom wanted to get us involved in something to spur creativity at a young age,” Greg said.

As they grew older, the siblings all enrolled in the prestigious Julliard School in New York to study music.   

“It seemed kind of normal to us to go to school together because we were always together anyway,” Ryan said. “It’s funny because after a while, our friends at school would just call us ‘Brown,’ because we were always together.”  

The quintet enjoyed their first wave of critical attention in February 2002, when People magazine dubbed them the “Fab Five.” At about the same time they were featured on “Oprah” and “60 Minutes.” Shortly after, The 5 Browns signed with SONY BMG Masterworks and their success grew with the 2005 release of their debut album on RCA Red Seal, simply titled “The 5 Browns.”

“It was so fun and cool to be able to be on shows we’ve watched since little kids,” Greg said. “We have to keep pinching ourselves to make sure it’s real.”

This year the sibling-musicians have been especially busy. Besides booking gigs across the county, The 5 Browns recently filmed a special for PBS, which will begin airing on KBTC on March 7. The special will feature music from their new album.

Although their musical journey has been tiresome, The 5 Browns agree that the best thing about being musicians is performing together.

“It’s been a crazy, surreal experience,” Ryan said. “I would have never imagined playing with my siblings, but I have had a better experience performing with them than I would have had as a solo artist. You get to be around your best friends.

Thing may seem rosy now, but the siblings admit compromise and patience took time to learn. Greg noted that when the group first formed, there were some challenges.

“We would be mean or overly critical,” he said. “But we quickly learned that things just work better when you’re kind. It becomes much more productive.”

He said the group still occasionally gets into disagreements, but that they have become better at coming to a group consensus.

“We are individuals with five different opinions, but at the end we love each other and want to be happy and productive,” Greg noted.

Their upcoming show in Tacoma will be the siblings’ first trip to the city. Deondra noted the group’s excitement about visiting and performing in the Northwest.

“We’ve heard wonderful things about how beautiful it is,” she said.

The concert will mostly feature classical pieces, but the siblings will also perform a suite from “Star Wars” for five pianos. This will give the audience a taste of the group’s upcoming CD release, featuring film music, in March.

“We’ve grown up fans of many films and there’s so much great music to draw from,” Deondra said.

She noted that it was hard for the group to pin down their favorite songs to cover for their new album, but that they had a fun time doing it.

“It’s been amazing to take the songs in films we’ve seen so many times and have it arranged to five pianos. We were hoping to do something different and show another facet of who we are.”

The 5 Browns will perform at the Pantages Theater in Tacoma on March 13. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $32.50-$62.50 (senior, child, military and group discounts apply).

To purchase tickets, call the Tacoma Philharmonic at (253) 272-0809 or the Pantages Box Office at (253) 591-5894. Tickets may also be purchased in person at the Pantages Theater Box Office, or online through www.tacomaphilharmonic.org.