• 05/31/2007 Ten days ago (May 22 nd ) the 100 tamburaša concert was held in front of the packed Lisinski hall. It was also great this time around with organization that suits such a tambura event – tamburaši, choir, gajdaši (bagpipers), a singing group from Slavonski Brod, conductors, guests… Everybody in a mood for singing and playing. The thing that raises my spirits time and again and about which I would like to write a few words are those great people “behind the scenes” – people that did a lot of work needed to make sure everything goes smoothly, that took care we got our missing sheet music, note stands etc. and whose names, unfortunately, I don't know. And the only thing I can do is to express my sincerest gratitude on behalf of all the tamburaši who participated.

Maestro Božo Potočnik has sent us his view of this event and a great affirmative text about the concert was written by Mr. Branimir Pofuk in his column in Jutarnji list daily newspaper. We got his approval and have the complete text on this website not only for us who use Croatian as a native language and have tambura as a part of tradition and cultural heritage, but also for our visitors from abroad who will, sooner or later – I'm sure, grow to like these noble sounds…

Several photos from the concert are available at the Šokadija website and photos “from the other side” will soon be available at this website.

Our tireless associate Mario Pleše has sent us sheet music for 3 čardaša, I hope it will be played :-))) , and there's also a musical piece performed by Berde Band – it's Amurski valovi (The Amur Waves) by M. Kjuss from the first Memorial...

• 05/02/2007 Preparations for the "100 tamburaša" concert that will take place in the Lisinski haall in Zagreb are going as planned. The concert program is very attractive and interesting with several guest musicians. Everyone will be able to find something that appeals to him in the program. I have a feeling that the guideline when compiling the program was to show that everything (or almost everything :-)) can be played on tambura. The concert is on May 22nd and you can buy the tickets at the Lisinski's ticket office or at this webpage... You can listen to a short audio clip announcing the concert (in Croatian) here...

On Monday, April 30th, the 8th Hrvoje Majić Memorial Concert was held in Vinkovci. According to the atmosphere among the performers and the audience it was great, for now you can get more information at our forum. Soon the Memorial page will be updated with the information about the event with some photos and until then enjoy in one composition from a previous Memorial - played by Patria and Jerry...

The article about the most famous tambura great, Janika Balaž, a virtuoso and a true artist, musician that was admired and respected by his fellow tamburaši and everybody who had the opportunity to hear that unforgettable magic... This is how the old gypsy played...

• 03/20/2007 Today we are proud to present the French and the English version of this website. The design remains the same and you can find older updates (only in Croatian for now) in the archive section which is not yet translated, but the translation is in progress...  

Several new sections have been introduced: hall of fame, a place dedicated to people who contributed to the popularization of tambura and tambura music either as esteemed musicians, composers, arrangers, educators or simply as patrons and tambura enthusiasts. We'll start this section with a brief retrospective of maestro Božo Potočnik's work written by our associate Mario Pleše. You can also download one of Mr. Potočnik's compositions performed by the Lado ensemble from our multimedia section. You can also find a link to the Hrvoje Majić Memorial, a tambura festival which is held annually in Vinkovci in honor of an excellent musician, the unfortunately too soon departed Hrvoje Majić. The Memorial hosts tambura ensembles that play exclusively instrumental music at the festival.  

In May 2006 the concert "160 tamburaša" took place in Zagreb's Lisinski concert hall... The event generated very positive feedback and the organization team decided to get down to work this year, too! And there is a lot of work to be done!!! We can announce that the concert "100 tamburaša" organized by Šokadija - Zagreb will be held in Lisinski. There will be two concerts - on May 22rd and 23th, around 120 tambura players will participate, the program has been decided upon and some very interesting guests will perform. In any case, these concerts shouldn't be missed. More details will appear on this website soon.  

In the last part of this update I will allow myself to be a little subjective. It is a music recording, of tambura music, of course. In my opinion maybe the best music material ever recorded in the history of tambura music... It is a solo album of a young and talented musician, producer, arranger, an album by Mr. Mario Zbiljski. You can buy it at www.songpeddler.com and you can listen to some short clips on this page... Soon in the interviews section there will be an interview with him and until then get this album and enjoy in his excellent music!!!