Former Tamburitzans host ensemble’s show at Gateway High School

Four years of performing with the Duquesne University Tamburitzans wasn’t quite enough for Frank Bozicevic.

So after he graduated, he remained involved the multicultural song-and-dance ensemble by driving its tour bus. Along the way, he and one of the members at the time started dating, and eventually they married.

Today, Monroeville residents Erin and Frank Bozicevic are proud that their son Ryan is continuing the family’s Tamburitzan tradition, although he’ll admit to taking a while to warm up to the idea.

“At first when I was growing up, I didn’t really care much about all this,” the Duquesne sophomore said. But an offer to play drums for Dad’s long-running band, Orkestar Zabava — roughly translated, that’s “party orchestra” in Croatian — piqued Ryan’s interest in the music of south-central Europe.

That’s the specialty of the Tamburitzans, and it turned out the troupe was in need of a percussionist.

“They asked me to fill in, and I went to New Jersey with them,” Ryan said. “So I got the whole experience.”

He will join 26 other cast members when his family sponsors the ensemble for a show at 3 p.m. Jan. 27 at his alma mater, Gateway High School. A reception follows in the Lourdes Center Dining Hall at Christ the Divine Shepherd Parish, 245 Azalea Drive, Monroeville.

Erin and Frank are dedicating the event to the memory of his parents, Frank and Betty Bozicevic.

“They were big followers of the group and very involved with the parent organization, as well,” the younger Frank said.

He and his future wife both earned full four-year scholarships to Duquesne as Tamburitzans when participation was limited to students at the university. The troupe now is an independent nonprofit organization that auditions and accepts students from other Pittsburgh-based colleges.

Proceeds from the Monroeville performance benefit the Tamburitzans scholarship fund.

“We’re donating every penny that we can back to the ensemble, once we cover our expenses. As alumni, we’re happy to give back, and it’s a great way to support the group,” Erin said. “Frank, especially, gives so much to the group. But there are so many other alumni who give tons of their time and effort to keep pushing the group forward.”

As a matter of fact, Frank is back to driving the Tammies’ bus, plus he does some musical arrangements and runs lights for shows.

When it comes to preparing venues, the students do most of the work.

“They are the crew,” Frank said. “They typically get to a show four hours before, unload the bus, set everything up, go through tuning the instruments, the screen, the lights, the sound. And then after the show, it probably takes them about an hour and a half to get out of there.”

The ensemble is in its 87th season as America’s longest running-stage production. Seven of the current members have parents who performed with the group, and one actually is a third-generation Tamburitzan, according to Erin.

“I think that anybody who has seen the performances walks away kind of blown away. These are all college students doing a professional-caliber show,” she said. “It’s just an amazing thing to see, that they’re doing it and they’re so passionate about it.”

Tickets to the Monroeville show are available at bozicevicevents.ludus.com/200443098. For more information about the Tamburitzans, visit www.thetamburitzans.org.