Don't be surprised if you hear a little Chopin or Rachmaninoff when Nate Sallie performs in Toledo on Friday.

A rapidly rising star in Christian pop music, Sallie was trained as a classical pianist and still enjoys dabbling in the classics in his concerts.

"I definitely like to go into these classical interludes in a live setting," he said in an interview this week, although he said he isn't sure if the interludes would work on a recording.

The 27-year-old musician from Alexandria, Va., said his music education began when he was 5 years old and his parents bought a Baldwin upright piano.

"They kind of decorated it as the centerpiece of their house, and I wasn't about to get out of taking piano lessons," he said. "I didn't really enjoy it until I was older, during my teenage years, when I began writing my own music. It's a great way to express yourself."

After attending Evangel Bible College in Missouri on a music scholarship, Sallie soon signed a contract with a Christian music label.

But his recording career got off to an inauspicious start.

"I had no idea what was happening," Sallie said. "Each time I would start to record, my record label would get bought out by another label and that was the end of it."

He went through three contracts before signing with Curb, which last year released his debut disc, "Inside Out."

The guitar-driven album has produced such hit singles as "All About You," "Whatever It Takes," and "Without You."

"Writing songs is about 90 percent inspiration and the rest is working out the details," Sallie said. "My best time lyrically is starting about 10 in the morning until about 1. My mind is focused then. I can concentrate and focus on what I'm writing about and nothing has happened that day yet to distract me."

He said he has finished five songs for his next album, which will feature more of his piano skills than were heard on his debut album. "I'm going back to my piano roots," Sallie said. "Instead of pop rock, I would define it more as soul rock."

Nate Sallie will be in concert with Across the Sky and Silers Bald at 7 p.m. Friday at the Mill, 5115 Glendale Ave. Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Information: 419-389-0893.

- David Yonke

First Published October 9, 2004, 7:12 a.m.