Dave Zupkovich was one of the great tamburitza musicians in the United States. I believe that his birthday was on January 3 and that he would be 103 years old were he alive today.
Tamburitza music is most often taken as Croatian, but its history and development are complex. It is a beautiful music that requires specially made instruments, skilled musicians, well-timed vocals, and concentration at its best. The music takes as its themes affairs of the heart, loneliness, and stories from history that sometimes become commentaries on present-day events. Tamburitza became the music of immigrant coal miners, steel workers, and auto workers and their communities in the United States and has perhaps come to be adopted by many communities with their roots in the Balkans over time.
Here is one of my favorite compositions:
