Musicians (aka Performers)

Main Hall

Sinovi Špagâ Rosen Sisters Fanfare Zambelata Michael Ginsburg Orkestar Unbound Lowiczanie


Please see schedule for latest live in-person music.


Sinovi

Tamburitza Orchestra

Sinovi Tamburitzanzs, formed in the fall of 1980, perform traditional tamburitza music of Croatia and beyond. The group was born out of the Seattle Jr. Tamburitzans for which it served as the music combo for the dance section of SJT. The group consists of two brothers, Tom and George Jovanovich (Brac and Bugarija) and their sons, Nick (brac) and Jake (bass). Lead singer is John Morovich (brac and accordion). They are often joined by Tim Jovanovich on Cello and Steven Mataya on brac.

The group has performed extensively in the Pacific Northwest and California and nationally regularly participating in Tamburitza Extravaganzas since 1981.

Sinovi specializes in the becar style of tamburitza music popular in the turn of the century Croatian American immigrant communities. The group has a large reportoire of traditional Kolo dances and popular Croatian songs.

Špagâ

Romanian Lautari and Transylvanian Music

Spaga Romanian Trio
Spaga Romanian Trio

ŠPAGÂ! plays exciting and virtuosic gypsy music from Romania, Transylvania, and central Europe!

Andrew Cohen (accordion) and Marco Ghezzo (violin/brač) have put in their time to travel to the source of Lautari and Transylvanian folklore traditions. They have both spent years of their lives apprenticing with master musicians from Romania and Transylvanian Romania+Hungary, and practicing the art/traditions they have become intimately privy to and are bearers of. They are the rising stars in their genre on the West Coast and Bay Area in specific.

Rosen Sisters

Rosen Sisters
Rosen Sisters
Known for their broad stylistic range and diverse repertoire, Ariana Rosen and Amberly Rosen Hoins have been presenting duo violin performances together since 1994. Exposed to a wide variety of music from a young age, the Rosen Sisters present eclectic programs of music from around the world. Specializing in Western Classical, American Country/Folk Fiddle, Traditional Irish, Balkan, Mediterranean and Scandinavian folk dance music, they have delighted audiences at venues across the United States, Europe and Asia. Since graduating from the Manhattan School of Music, Ariana has been highly sought after as a teacher and performer (including appearances with Distinguished Concerts International New York and Parlando) in the greater New York City area for the past 19 years. Amberly graduated from Berklee in Boston, and has been seen performing on The Late Show with David Letterman, and the Grand Ole Opry. She is based out of Nashville, TN where she performs, teaches, and enjoys being a new mom.

Svirači

Melissa Miller (Bulgarian and Macedonian vocals, Bulgarian and Macedonian kaval, tambourine)
Lew Smith (tupan, dumbek, Bulgarian and Macedonian tambura)
Jim Little (Bulgarian and Macedonian gajdas, tupan, Swedish säckpipa, fiddle, Macedonian tambura)
Set list:
Pravoto (Gajdexhiju)
Berovka/Ratevka
Sandansko
Ne sedi dzhemo/Devojchje, devojche
Narodno oro
Svirači (pronounced SVEE-rah-chee) is a three-member band that plays traditional village-style Macedonian and Bulgarian music for folk dancers, plus some Scandinavian folk dance tunes. In 1974, after the very first week-long Balkan Music Camp (at Sweet's Mill, above Fresno, CA) a number of us South-Bay/Peninsula residents who had attended decided we should get together again and play together. Members of the original early-days Svirači included Peter Ward (accordion, tambura), Mike Gage (clarinet, Bulgarian kaval), Gary Breitbard (violin, gudulka) as well as the current members Jim Little (string bass, gajda, and violin), Melissa Miller (flute, kaval), and Lewis Smith (percussion and tambura). We had an urban as well as a village repertoire back then, because we had the instrumentation; however, within a few years, as Pete, Mike, and Gary had changes in their personal lives, they left Svirači and we settled into exploring the village repertoire more deeply. Melissa began singing in public with the group at about that same time. For a time in the 1980s, Kip McAtee, now living in Hawaii, joined us on tambura. When Jim took up playing Swedish bagpipe, we added some Scandinavian music to our repertoire. We also have more urban style pieces using fiddle, voice, tambura, and percussion.

Website: http://sviraci.persson-little.com

Tips/Donations:
Venmo to @Lewis-Smith-70

Fanfare Zambelata

Balkan Band

Fanfare Zambelata
Gregory Masaki Jenkins
Fanfare Zambaleta (roughly meaning crazy street party with brass) is a ten piece Balkan Brass band specializing in spirited music of the Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Greek and especially the Romani people. Combining a love of the classic brass bands of the past with the modern sounds coming out of the Balkans, Fanfare Zambaleta brings an irresistible blend of old and new to get you dancing! They've learned from some of the greats including Demiran Ćerimović, Džambo Aguševi Orkestar and Nizo Alimov (of Kočani Orkestar) and are bringing that inspiration to the streets of Oakland, San Francisco, and beyond!
The band is directed by Gregory Masaki Jenkins (alto sax, clarinet) and features Joey Friedman (alto sax), Noah Levitt, Peter Bonos and Max Miller-Loran (trumpets), Rachel MacFarlane, Adam Waite, and Brendan Mauro (mid horns), Evan Stuart (sousaphone) and Ivan Velev (percussion, vocals).
San Francisco Bay Area born and raised, Gregory Masaki Jenkins is a professional musician and educator who is known for his skill and passion for the music of the Balkans as a clarinetist, alto saxophonist, and vocalist. He was first exposed to this music through his parents, longtime Balkan Folk Dancers. At age 13, he attended his first workshop at the EEFC's Balkan Music & Dance Camp in Mendocino, discovering his passions for Greek music and Balkan Brass. He has since become an instructor there directing the Kids Band initially and teaching Greek Ensemble, Rebetika Ensemble, and Beginner Band in recent years. Other teaching experience includes Lark Camp (since 2015), Kolo Festival, Zambaleta and balkanalia!
Greg was a founding member of Brass Menazeri and can currently be seen with the Greek folk and laika band Helios, American/Latin/Balkan band Istanbul Connection, the Turkish pop band 4arti1, and directing the Balkan Brass Band Fanfare Zambaleta. He has been a featured performer with Stellamara, Inspector Gadje, Janam and past projects include Agapi Mou, MWE among many others. He has also been in demand at FDF, a yearly competition where he often plays Northern Greek/Macedonian Brass for local church dance groups.
His teachers/mentors include Michael Ginsburg and Christos Govetas, and has since studied with some of the great bandleaders of the Balkans including Ferus Mustafov and Džambo Agušev. Balkan Brass Ensemble is open to all instruments and sheet music will be provided.

Michael Ginsburg

Band leader for material from Greek Macedonia

Michael Ginsburg
Michael Ginsburg has been director and lead trumpet player of Zlatne Uste Balkan Brass Band since 1983. He accompanied ZU to brass festivals in Guča, Serbia, three times between 1987 and 1990, as well as in 2003 and 2005, where he and ZU were able to play and party with local brass bands and experience the music in its natural setting. Michael and Zlatne Uste worked with Ekrem Sajdić and Zlatni Prsti brass band in 2003, and in 2005 with Vranjski Biseri, both in Vranjska Banja, Serbia. Michael performed in the summer of 2010 with Zlatne Uste at the first competition of international bands at the Sabor Trubača in Guča, Serbia, representing the United States. ​For many years, Michael has been interested in Balkan music and dances, especially Macedonian and Serbian. He is an expert in the complicated rhythms of Balkan music and has made several research trips to Bulgaria and the former Yugoslavia, and studied in Macedonia with Pece Atanasovski, with whom he made research tours of the country. Michael has been on the teaching staff of the Macedonian Pearl seminar in Berovo, Macedonia. Michael lives in Yonkers, NY. For Michael's dance music, email him at mginsburg@gmail.com
for electronic copy of music, for a CD with the music, paid directly to him.

Orkestar Unbound

Balkan and International

Orkestar Unbound features multi-instrumentalist bandleader Bill Cope, Asaf Ophir on woodwinds, vocalist Emily Saletan, Janie Cowan on bass, and Dan Auvil on drums. They will be playing music from the Balkans (and a bit beyond) from lyrical and gentle to rockin'!
Tips/Donations:
Venmo to @@Cope-a-cabana

Lowiczanie

Polish Folk Dance

Lowiczanie
Łowiczanie is a vibrant Polish folk ensemble now entering its 50th season presenting the rich variety of dance, music and choral works from traditional Polish folk arts. The Ensemble is dedicated to preserving and showcasing the complex and compelling traditions of Polish national and regional dances, and to offering educational and dance training workshops to the public.
With a deep connection to Polish culture, dancers and singers create dynamic programs for a variety of events including proscenium stage concerts, folk festivals, educational presentations for schools, and private celebrations such as birthdays, weddings and anniversaries. Beyond the stage, Łowiczanie actively engages with Polonia and the general public in the Bay Area bringing the spirit of Polish heritage to life through community activities and workshops. Trainings include open classes which offer an introduction to Polish folk dances, annual public workshops that teach the time-honored techniques of Polish Easter egg dyeing, as well as family-friendly events organized around traditional harvest festivities.
The passionate performances of Łowiczanie dancers and singers, as well as the collaborative nature of its members, are a testament to their commitment to keep Polish traditional culture alive and thriving. Łowiczanians have traveled to perform at events throughout the United States and Canada, and have presented Polish and American repertoire in Poland and Slovakia since 1980. In 1983 Łowiczanie, together with five partner ensembles, created the Polish Folkdance Association of the Americas whose bylaws were modeled on those of Łowiczanie. Today Łowiczanie members wish to offer heartfelt „Warmest Best Wishes“ to Łowicz members and their supporters on the occasion of Łowicz's very special anniversary celebration!