Tamburitza Orchestra Šmartno pri Litiji
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area : Srce Slowenije |
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category : performing arts |
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Šmartno near Litija boasts a rich cultural life which is witnessed by the Cultural and Arts Societies with a decades-long tradition, among them the Tamburitza Orchestra Šmartno near Litija. Their history goes back to 1892 and is considered the oldest tamburitza group in Slovenia.
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The preserved cash book is a document on the constitutional festivity of the choir at the beginning of the 20th century. The Tamburitza Choir of Šmartno near Litija, as it was originally called, was at first led by Ivan Bartl from Šmartno near Litija. There are only a few written sources and photographs on the orchestra of a later date. The initiative to revive the tamburitza group was given in 1983 by the artistic director of the folklore group of the Cultural-Arts Society Folklore Group Javorje, Ida Dolšek. At the time the group was led by Urška Meglič, and later on by Marjan Janežič Jr. and Janko Slimšek. In 2002, the Tamburitza Group of Šmartno near Litija which had already grown into an orchestra was taken over by the artistic director Helena Vidic who majored in Composition and Conducting at the Music Academy in Ljubljana. Under her leadership the group grew into one of the best Slovenian orchestras, which is evidenced by their achievements at national and international competitions. In January 2010, the Society left the Cultural and Arts Society Javorje and is active today under the name of Cultural Society Tamburitza Orchestra Šmartno near Litija. During the last two years the activities of the tambouritza players in Šmartno outgrew the frameworks of the sections so they decided to become an independent society.
At the moment there are 36 active tamburitza players, which has earned them the right to be among the largest tamburitza groups in Slovenia. The members are mostly young since more than a half of them are under 30 years of age. The youngest tamburitza is 11 years old, while the oldest is 71. There are three sections of the tamburitza players of Šmartno near Litija: the Tamburitza Orchestra, the Plectrum Group and the youth section.
The members of the Orchestra master all five instruments from the tamburitza family: bisernica, brač, tamburaško čelo, bugarija and berda belonging to the plucked string instrument group. They have rehearsals all the year round, twice a week in the Šmartno elementary school. Over the recent years they have been participating in about 35 appearances annually. When the Orchestra performs independently, the members wear uniforms which they take care of themselves.
Their repertoire is very diverse and comprises over one hundred compositions. Most of them are arrangements of Slovenian folk music and arrangements of foreign songs. Over recent years Helena Vidic has been helping them to broaden their repertoire by including arrangements of classical music, gipsy music, folk melodies and original works.
Music is a very important element of the Orchestra; in addition, the Orchestra exists as a special social group. Within the Orchestra, different relationships, habits and unwritten rules are intertwined and they all depend on the generation- and profession-related structure as well as on the occasions when the Orchestra performs. The members keep in contact also after rehearsals and performances, in particular when one of them has a birthday. Sometimes they surprise a member with a serenade on the occasion of their name\'s day. |
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