Tweet
PRESERVING FOLK CULTURE
By Lu Ann Franklin
Times
Published: 03-10-2011
MUNSTER | With a whirl of vibrant colors, Duquesne University's
Tamburitzans celebrated the cultural heritage of Eastern Europe in
music and dance on stage Sunday at Munster High School.
The troupe of 31 full-time college students from Pittsburgh returned
to the Calumet area as part of this year's 80-plus concert series
that takes them more than 40,000 miles across the U.S.
Sunday's appreciative multigenerational audience journeyed with
the students through such cultures as Croatia, Serbia, Bavaria,
Slovenia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Poland, Russia, Armenia,
Ukraine, Macedonia and Greece.
The Calumet Region's ethnic mix is similar to Pittsburgh's, and the
Tamburitzans' performances here always draw large crowds, said Paul
G. Stafura, managing director of the troupe since 1973.
"Munster High School is one of our favorite places to perform because
the audience is so supportive," Stafura said.
Everything about the energetic performance is authentic, he said.
Songs are sung in many languages and dialects, and the dances represent
a multitude of traditional European styles. Musicians play folk
instruments, from mandolins and violins to the upright bass as well as
pipes and trumpets. And the more than 400 original costumes worn during
a single performance are researched and authentically reproduced.
Preserving the ethnic heritage of Eastern Europe countries and its
neighbors continues to be the mission of the Duquesne University
Tamburitzans, now in the group's 74th year, Stafura said.
Many performers are of Eastern European heritage and began performing
the music and dances of these cultures as young children.
Sophomore Nick Jovonovich, 20, of Pittsburgh, hails from a Northwest
Indiana family. His father, Nick, and his godfather, Mickey Josic,
of Schererville, formed a popular folk band, the Jandran Tamburitza
Orchestra, that performed throughout the Calumet Region in the 1970s
and '80s. The broadcast journalism major said his mother, Nena,
was in a junior Tamburitza group during her youth.
Christine Tate, 18, a freshman from Oak Creek, Wis., also grew up
performing in Eastern European groups.
"I was in a Croatian group since the age of 7. It's a family
tradition," said Tate, who sings in a Greek trio and dances Serbian,
Bulgarian and Moldovan dances during the two-hour performance "I'll
probably have my own children perform in Croatian groups."
Four of the Tamburitzan troupe are international students from
Macedonia and Bulgaria, Stafura said.
In addition to performing, the 31 students load and unload the touring
bus, iron costumes, work with sound equipment and set up the stage
prior to the show.
All the performers go through rigorous auditions to become part of
the Tamburitzans, and those chosen receive scholarships, he said. The
pace is hectic.
They are all full-time students majoring in such disciplines as
education, biology, accounting, marketing, physics and pharmacy,
Stafura said.
"On Saturday, we were in Buffalo (New York) performing. We drove all
night and arrived at Munster High School at 11 a.m.," he said. "We'll
be back in Pittsburgh at 5 a.m. Monday, and these students will go back
to class. We've already had our spring break and spent it performing
in Florida."
The Associated Press.
From: A. Papazian
By Lu Ann Franklin
Times
Published: 03-10-2011
MUNSTER | With a whirl of vibrant colors, Duquesne University's
Tamburitzans celebrated the cultural heritage of Eastern Europe in
music and dance on stage Sunday at Munster High School.
The troupe of 31 full-time college students from Pittsburgh returned
to the Calumet area as part of this year's 80-plus concert series
that takes them more than 40,000 miles across the U.S.
Sunday's appreciative multigenerational audience journeyed with
the students through such cultures as Croatia, Serbia, Bavaria,
Slovenia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Poland, Russia, Armenia,
Ukraine, Macedonia and Greece.
The Calumet Region's ethnic mix is similar to Pittsburgh's, and the
Tamburitzans' performances here always draw large crowds, said Paul
G. Stafura, managing director of the troupe since 1973.
"Munster High School is one of our favorite places to perform because
the audience is so supportive," Stafura said.
Everything about the energetic performance is authentic, he said.
Songs are sung in many languages and dialects, and the dances represent
a multitude of traditional European styles. Musicians play folk
instruments, from mandolins and violins to the upright bass as well as
pipes and trumpets. And the more than 400 original costumes worn during
a single performance are researched and authentically reproduced.
Preserving the ethnic heritage of Eastern Europe countries and its
neighbors continues to be the mission of the Duquesne University
Tamburitzans, now in the group's 74th year, Stafura said.
Many performers are of Eastern European heritage and began performing
the music and dances of these cultures as young children.
Sophomore Nick Jovonovich, 20, of Pittsburgh, hails from a Northwest
Indiana family. His father, Nick, and his godfather, Mickey Josic,
of Schererville, formed a popular folk band, the Jandran Tamburitza
Orchestra, that performed throughout the Calumet Region in the 1970s
and '80s. The broadcast journalism major said his mother, Nena,
was in a junior Tamburitza group during her youth.
Christine Tate, 18, a freshman from Oak Creek, Wis., also grew up
performing in Eastern European groups.
"I was in a Croatian group since the age of 7. It's a family
tradition," said Tate, who sings in a Greek trio and dances Serbian,
Bulgarian and Moldovan dances during the two-hour performance "I'll
probably have my own children perform in Croatian groups."
Four of the Tamburitzan troupe are international students from
Macedonia and Bulgaria, Stafura said.
In addition to performing, the 31 students load and unload the touring
bus, iron costumes, work with sound equipment and set up the stage
prior to the show.
All the performers go through rigorous auditions to become part of
the Tamburitzans, and those chosen receive scholarships, he said. The
pace is hectic.
They are all full-time students majoring in such disciplines as
education, biology, accounting, marketing, physics and pharmacy,
Stafura said.
"On Saturday, we were in Buffalo (New York) performing. We drove all
night and arrived at Munster High School at 11 a.m.," he said. "We'll
be back in Pittsburgh at 5 a.m. Monday, and these students will go back
to class. We've already had our spring break and spent it performing
in Florida."
The Associated Press.
From: A. Papazian