On her recently-released debut CD "The Stranger," Chirumbolo mixes traditional Italian music with modern pop. It's a form of music she's dubbed "Italian folk fusion." Music fans of all styles can hear Chirumbolo when she performs at the Olin Fine Arts Center at Washington and Jefferson College on May 10.
"It's been a long time since Italians have had an influence in the pop music industry," Chirumbolo, a 2002 graduate of Canon-McMillan High School, said. "When the crooners like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin died, the music died with them. I wanted to bridge the gap between the two cultures."
Chirumbolo's Italian roots run deep. Her grandfather moved to the South Hills from Calabria, Italy. As a wedding gift, he gave her father two acres of land in McMurray, where her family has their own road, Chirumbolo Lane.
"We still can tomatoes and make our own wine," she says with a laugh. "It's our little piece of Italy."
Chirumbolo was introduced to Italian folk music at an early age, as her father plays the accordion and her uncle plays the guitar. "That was our entertainment at family gatherings," she recalls. "When I was a baby, I would just start singing along."
Even in her teens, Chirumbolo stayed true to her roots and didn't succumb to the latest MTV trends.
"My friends would tease me and say I was from another world. I would be driving around with my windows down blasting Pavarotti. I wasn't listening to rap music."
Her passion for her heritage eventually led her to record "The Stranger" at Carnegie Mellon University Recording Studios. The CD cost Chirumbolo $10,000 and took a year to record. She enlisted the help of musicians from Carnegie Mellon University, where she graduated in 2007, and credits accordion player Paul Calisi with helping her realizing her dream of recording her music.
"He's been walking side-by-side with me during this entire journey," she says. "He has the music in his soul."
And when it comes to her music, Chirumbolo keeps it authentic, preferring to sing songs like "Signore Vento" and "Terra Straniera" in Italian.
"You will not hear arrangements of these songs anywhere else," she says. "They were specifically made for my voice. It's Italian music with a pop flair and an influence of jazz."
Christina Chirumbolo will perform at the Olin Fine Arts Center at Washington and Jefferson College at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 10. For information, visit www.christinachirum bolo.com.