Residence

Seattle, Wa, USA

Place of Birth

Seattle, Wa, USA

Personal Statement

The years and experience have added to my personal belief in the healing powers of music.  The joy of singing and finding one’s passion are interwoven throughout every performance and workshop, along with careful attention to the tehcnical and emotional aspects of traditional Balkan singing.

Biography

Mary Sherhart is one of America's leading artists in Balkan singing and one of the few non-native artists to be recognized and loved by ethnic audiences.  She is a recipient of the 2006 Artist Trust / Washington State Arts Commission Fellowship.  Most recently, she is honored and accepted as a gifted singer in the traditional urban genre of Bosnia and Hercegovina, sevdah.  She is the first president of the Sevdah Institute North America, and has created three cd's and two dvd's in Bosnia with legendary artist Omer Pobric which are being broadcast internationally.  She is the first American to have recorded sevdalinke in English.  During June, 2006, she performed on a US tour with Mr. Pobric and singers from the Sevdah Institute in Bosnia, to major diaspora communities throughout the United States. Mary had the honor of opening the 2005 Festival of Sevdalinke at the Bascarsija Nights Festival in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.  In February she is headlining the kick off of St Louis PBS affiliate KETC community conversations in connection with documentaries on love.

 

Mary's career encompasses performances, recordings and teaching.  Mary's two CDs with current group Balkan Cabaret, "Somewhere Far Away" and "Nostalgic Songs from a Balkan Café," are broadcast in the US, Bulgaria and throughout former Yugoslavia. Balkan Cabaret performs frequently, locally and across the United States and Canada. By invitation of modern dance choreographer Mark Morris, they performed in March, 2006, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music Café Live as part of the 25th anniversary celebration of the Mark Morris Dance Group.  Balkan Cabaret was nominated as a Best Band, world music category, in Seattle Weekly's 2003 and 2004 Music Showcases.  Mary has collaborated with many distinguished musicians over the years including:  Bosnian legend Omer Pobric, world renowned guitarist Miroslav Tadic, Amy Denio, pianist Milen Kirov and Croatian composer Tomislav Uhlik.  She has worked with many Northwest groups, as well, including:  Kultur Shock, Ruze Dalmatinke, Radost, Vela Luka Croatian Ensemble, Balkanarama, Nisava, Bonboni; as well as a number of community choirs which include:  Seattle Pro Musica, Pacifica Children's Choir and the City Cantabile Choir. 

 

Mary lived in Bulgaria for fifteen months in 1984-85.  There she performed and toured with the choir of the professional folklore ensemble "Varna," and studied with traditional artists throughout the country.  She continues her connection with Bulgaria and returned there in 1999 as special guest in a concert to celebrate the first anniversary of Bulgarian Music Channel 1, Varna, Bulgaria.

 

Committed to the local communities, Mary has created numerous musical projects which engage the ethnic communities and build bridges between them and the general public. Examples include the King County Arts Commission funded "Joyous Nativity," a 2-year musical project which featured Croatian composer Tomislav Uhlik's residency and performance of his work by a 50-voice choir and 20-piece orchestra conducted by Ms. Sherhart in sold out performances at Saint James Cathedral, and in Vancouver and Anacortes;  the UW Slavic Fest which brings together Slavs in unprecedented cooperation on a common event and features a community folklore parade and children's ensemble performance on campus;  Songs & Stories, concerts which featured three singers from different Balkan cultures - a Greek-American, a Bosnian and a Macedonian; and the 50-voice New Land Choir which performed for special events at Town Hall and included singers from all of the Balkan cultures.  Her production company, New Land Music, continues to publicize and present performances of touring and local Balkan music groups.

 

Mary also teaches Balkan singing and culture in a variety of settings including as an Artisit in the Schools with Northwest Folklife, in workshops with ethnic communities, choirs and general public, and at festivals throughout the country.  Along with singing, Mary's workshops include a strong message of finding one's passion in life and the well of joy that music offers.  She is credited as having inspired artists and Slavic communities to sing and generate their own musical projects.

 

Mary provides a vital bridge between Americans and Balkan cultures, and, even more compellingly, between the various and often fractious Balkan communities.  Her performances and the musical experiences she creates often find Serbs, Bosnians, Croatians, Bulgarians and Macedonians under one roof enjoying the shared human joy of music.  Her love of Balkan music often inspires Balkan people to reconnect and appreciate their cultural riches.  Her continuous creativity and artistic excellence have earned her respect and critical acclaim from American and Balkan communities throughout the world.  Mary’s path started in 1970 as a teenager in Seattle’s Koleda Ensemble.  The years and experience have added to her personal belief in the healing powers of music.  The joy of singing and finding one’s passion are interwoven throughout every performance and workshop.  Visit her website at www.marysherhart.com.

 

"Mary Sherhart is one of the most enterprising figures in Seattle's music scene:  singer, teacher, producer, presenter, connoisseur."  R.M. Campbell, Seattle PI

 

Mary is a member of the Advisory Board of the University of Washington Department of Slavic Languages and Literature, as well as president of their alumni and friends board. She holds a degree in liberal studies from Antioch University with concentrations in both ethnomusicology and arts management.  A complete resume can be found at www.marysherhart.com.  She is, most importantly, the mother of three fabulous children, a dog, cat and gecko.

Awards and Honors

2006 Artist Trust / Washington State Arts Commission Fellowship

Contact Information

mary@marysherhart.com

Artist's Website

www.marysherhart.com

Links to buy work

www.marysherhart.comwww.balkancabaret.com