Hi everyone,
I am of Croatian decent,I have been reading all the comments and it is rereshing to know there are people out there interested in our heritage. I am a Tambura musician and live in the midwest. I live in Illinois about half way between St. Louis, MO. & Springfield, IL. I have been playing Tambura since I was a child and my brother and I still have a tamburitza band.

The commonality of Tambura music is nothing like it use to be, when the Skertich Brother, Popovich brothers, and many others use to perform. When I was a kid every wedding, aneversary party,or town celebration included Tambura music. However, there are still several bands around today trying to keep this wonderfull music alive, and we welcome everyone interested to join in.

My band memebers are members of the CFU Lodge 217 in Benld, IL.( Croatian Fraternal Union ). We have annual picnics usually the first weekend in september and several Tamburitza bands from the area and some from St. Louis, Mo. including The Junior Tamburitzans ( kids )of St. Louis put on a program complete with traditional costumes worn in Yugoslavia displaying a true folklore experience. There is tambura music all day long, also plenty of good ethinic foods such as babecue lamb, cabbage rolls, and of course plenty of music and dancing.

The CFU has lodges all over the U.S. Canada and Croatia. The CFU has a web site full of links to resources including music, bands and picnics like the one I described above related to our heritage. This is a good place to start for anyone interested.

Tambura music is a big part of our heritage and who we are. Croatian & Serbian people are very deeply pasionate about our families, friends, music and are very proud of who we are and where we came from. Tambura music is a bond that keeps us in touch with our heritage.

I hope this helps bring a perspective on how it's not just about the music, its about the people, their families, friends and, preserving a beatiful heritage.