Christine and Jim Salhany
Amalgamation: to mix so as to make a unified whole; to blend, unite, and combine.
Related to chemistry – perhaps most especially that chemistry between creative minds
who, in mixing their individual talents, create a potent blend of artistic expression.
Or in pedestrian terms: This is the story of how a classically trained musician merged
with a garage band rocker…. and through exploration, growth, and faith, they created
their own musical brand which they call crossing genres.
Christine Sheil Salhany has seen the world as a military dependent. After high school in
Washington, D.C. she chose Northwest Missouri State to major in music. Her instrument
is the flute and she has spent much of her life performing classical and sacred music in a
variety of venues, religious as well as secular. Her post-graduate study has included
training with principal flutists of major American orchestras including the St. Paul
Chamber Orchestra and the Detroit, Minneapolis, Kansas City and Omaha Symphonies.
Veering into vocals seemed a natural transition for Christine, whose focus has been and
continues to be versatility and openness. While in college, she began singing soft rock:
Simon and Garfunkel, the Beatles, et al on the coffee house circuit with a guitarist friend,
then segued into jazz with the encouragement of a college professor who invited her to
front the university’s jazz band on tour.
Arriving in Omaha in the early ‘80s, Christine sang with the Clarion Chamber Choral,
and began to study vocal music to improve her technique. “My approach to singing at
that time was very intuitive,” she explains. She discovered a world class soprano;
Metropolitan Opera and La Scala star Alexandra Hunt, living close by. With Hunt’s
guidance, Christine began exploring the facets of her vocal ability and a wide range of
musical genres. Miss Hunt exulted in a letter of recommendation that “of all my singer
colleagues or students…Christine Salhany has imposed upon herself the most original
and challenging recital programs, and meets the challenges exceedingly well….. She is
an excellent musician…and her voice has an unusual pleasing sound, warm in quality and
with a wide range.”
Working at flute and voice has widened Christine’s scope. She is equally at home
performing chamber music of the classical flute repertoire -- as well as delivering the
goods as a chanteuse. One memorable performance Christine joined classical guitarist
Carlos de la Barrera and nationally renowned flutist Nestor Herszbaum as they performed
South American art songs, Música de Câmera, a concert series sponsored by the Old
Omaha Association. Christine recalls: “The concert was to be given in the beautiful inner
Garden of the Zodiac in the Old Market Passageway. We anticipated rain and performed
in a protected area. During the concert, it [did] began to rain.” Yet, she explained, the
audience loved the ambience and the guitarist insisted that it was reminiscent of the rain
forests of his homeland. Association director Mark Mercer deemed the event “a great
success: “Miss Salhany’s rendition of Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 Aria made for an
absolutely stunning finale.”
Finding the right synergy with other musicians is an important aspect to Christine’s
success. And it is how she met her husband – while seeking a guitarist for a program she
was planning.
Jim Salhany’s day job is medical research. A professor at the University of Nebraska
Medical Center, he holds a doctorate in biophysics from the University of Chicago.
“There is no obvious connection between molecular biophysics and music,” he maintains.
Yet, the total escape from all things allowed by immersion in music “feeds the
soul…thus, is good for the science side of the brain,” he maintains.
His first foray into music was playing guitar with other young musicians. “My initial
training was Garage Band 101,” he explains, noting that his band covered late 50s rock
and roll and the blues numbers which eventually morphed with the Beatles and the
Rolling Stones, “but the transition was not immediate.” A foreign exchange student
exposed him to Brasilian music, launching a lifetime appreciation of Portuguese culture
and musical tradition, especially the rhythms and melodies of samba as exemplified by
Milton Nascimento and Jorge Ben Jor. Others who have and continue to inform his taste
and style include Jazz greats Wes Montgomery, Cassandra Wilson, and Miles Davis;
blues stylist John Lee Hooker; rockpop icons Bob Dylan, John Lennon, and Jimi
Hendrix; and jazz fusion wunderkind John McLaughlin.
While preparing for his career in medical research, Jim continued to ply his musical craft
and he began composing as well. Recruited by the University of Nebraska Medical
Center to research heart and red blood cell disease, he found time to advance his musical
interests, studying guitar with local classicists Neil Rowan and Hadley Haven, as well as
playing guitar and writing songs for a band called City Dog.
Christine’s voice training continues, most recently with baritone David Rubens, executive
director of the Actors Studio in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. She comments:
“He is helping me to find my voice. Until working with David, I did not know what my
voice was capable of.” Their current project is developing a concert for Christine
featuring German Lieder, encompassing the ageless compositions of Schumann,
Schubert, Wolf and Brahms with lyrics derived from German poetry of the 19th century.
Since 2002, Christine has produced and recorded three CDs showcasing spiritual music:
In Paradisum, and O Magnum Mysterium: Advent of the Lord, music reflecting
contemplation and praise; and Hear Me Prayin, ’ a collection of Negro spirituals sung a
capella. In 2007 Christine and Jim produced and recorded a standard for Jazz and pop
tunes called Day Dream: Jazz and Pop Ballads for Voice and Piano. The CD features
Christine singing selections from legendary jazz icon, Duke Ellington, accompanied by
jazz pianist Nelsen Neves.
The 20 + year collaboration between Christine and Jim has produced a marriage of tastes
and talents.
Their current project involves three CDs in the Crossing Genres collection, highlighting
Christine’s vocal range and styles performing Jim’s original music. Crossing Genres
contains musical offerings from American Samba to Country, Reggae, and Blues. Jim
notes: “I like the way Chris sings all of the songs. Sometimes I think she is a country
singer” – listen to her rendition of I’m Still Waiting for You on the first Crossing Genres
cd- “and then she surprises me with a jazz interpretation in another song. Her ability to
harmonize with herself in studio recording has always impressed me. She’s really a great
musician besides having a good voice.”
To listen to the songs on the first Crossing Genres CD, check out iTunes or go to
www.crossinggenres.com and select the appropriate link to Clear Channel Radio. All 49
songs of Christine’s recordings are available for purchase on 25 internet sites including
iTunes and CDBABY.