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Tamburitzans Celebrate 80th Season – USAby Joan Grauman Morse, AAA Historian |
Since 1973, I have been annually attending the mesmerizing performances of the Duquesne University Tamburitzans, the longest continuously running multicultural song and dance company in the United States. All of the members are full-time students who receive scholarships for their participation in this highly regarded troupe whose mission is to provide deserving students an education and to perpetuate the varying folk cultures and traditions of Eastern Europe. Picture left: Joan Grauman, Marko Maslakovic and Joe Cerrito. These young highly skilled musicians, dancers and singers have delighted audiences all over the world with beautifully choreographed dance sets, hauntingly beautiful music and intricately embroidered costumes for 80 years. On July 1, 2016, the Tamburitzans became an independent nonprofit organization, the “Pittsburgh International Folk Arts Institute”. Duquesne University gave the troupe their buildings, vehicles, instruments, costumes, equipment, as well as funding to help ensure their future success. Students may now attend other Pittsburgh-based universities as well as Duquesne. Each year, the Tamburitzans create a new program which they bring to appreciative audiences all over the country. This year, being their 80th anniversary, they “went all out” and the program is truly spectacular! It features the music and dances of Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Armenia, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, as well as sets from France and India. There is still time to see the Tamburitzans perform during the current season, which ends on June 9 (see downloadable schedule below). Of course, we all took notice of the excellent and very personable accordionist, Marko Maslakovic from Belgrade, Serbia, who is studying for his Master’s degree in corporate communications. The entire ensemble is superb, as are the dancers and singers. A must see!! Picture below: Tamburitzan clarinetist & accordionist Marko Maslakovic. Future Performances. Full details at: 2017Tamburitzan.pdf Sunday 19 March Munster, IN Sunday 26 March Detroit, MI Saturday 1 April, Toms River, NJ Sunday 2 April Allentown, PA Sunday 9 April Ellwood City, PA Saturday 22 April Erie, PA Sunday 23 April Cleveland, OH Saturday 29 April Pittsburgh, PA Saturday May 20 – Dayton OH Sunday May 21 – Greendale WI Sunday May 28 – Mountain View CA Tuesday May 30 – Los Angeles CA Wednesday May 31 – Las Vegas NV Thursday June 1 – Mesa AZ Friday June 2 – Las Cruces NM Sunday June 4 – Pueblo CO Monday June 5 – Kansas City KS Tuesday June 6 – Indianapolis IN Friday June 9 – Pittsburgh PA |