Music of the Former Yugoslavia in Canada

Patterns of immigration to Canada from this south-central European country are considered in EMC entries for Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia - four of the republics and cultures which constitute the political and geographic entity of Yugoslavia (so named in 1929 but formed as the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes in 1918, and made the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1945). Other republics in Yugoslavia are Bosnia-Hercegovina and Montenegro; the Montenegrins form the fifth and smallest cultural entity in the country. In 1986 84,580 people in Canada claimed Yugoslavian heritage.

Among the musicians of Yugoslavia who have appeared in Canada are I Solisti di Zagreb in 1956, 1957, 1973, and 1978, the soprano Daniza Ilitch (Eaton Auditorium 1956) and, on tours for the JMC (YMC), the Zagreb String Quartet 1964-5, the Belgrade Trio 1966-7, 1972-3, the piano duo of Lukic and Murai 1968-9, and the Foestrovo Trio 1969-70. The great Yugoslav (Croatian) soprano Zinka Milanov sang in Canada during the visits 1952-5, 1957, 1959, and 1960 of the Metropolitan Opera. Pianists Ivo Pogorelich, Kemal Gekic, and Aleksandar Madjar all visited Canada in the late 1980s.

Folk groups have presented the several cultural heritages of Yugoslavia to Canadian audiences. Among these have been the Yugoslav National Folk Ballet and Kolo (the Yugoslav professional company from Belgrade), both in Montreal and Toronto in 1956, the Lado Folkloric Ensemble of Yugoslavia at Expo 67, and the song and dance troupe Abraševic during its 1974 tour. Yugoslavian folk groups have also participated in international folk festivals at Cornwall, Ont and Drummondville, Que. Among Yugoslavian-born musicians active in Canada are the musicologists Dujka Smoje and Gordana Lazarevich and the folksinger Joso Spralja (of Malka and Joso). The composer Marjan Mozetich is of Yugoslavian descent.

Among Canadian musicians who have performed in Yugoslavia are Louise Forand (piano), Jean Laurendeau (clarinet, ondes Martenot), and Vincent Dionne (percussion), who toured as a trio for the JMC, 1968-9. James Campbell (clarinet) was the winner of the JMC International Competition in Belgrade. Hélène Gagné toured Yugoslavia as a JM exchange artist. In 1981 a group of Canadian dancers and musicians, assembled by composer Michael Pepa specifically for this tour, Soundstage Canada '81 toured Yugoslavia, Romania, and Hungary. Among the performers involved were Robert Aitken, Joseph Macerollo, Erica Goodman, and Mary Morrison, performing music by R. Murray Schafer, Barbara Pentland, Gilles Tremblay, David Keane and Marjan Mozetich, among others. Rhombus Media, in co-operation with TV Ontario, CBC, and NFB, made Zivjeli - to life, a film about the ensemble's appearance in Zagreb. The Toronto Children's Chorus performed in Ljubljana as part of its 1984 European tour.