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INTRODUCING THE CHILDREN'S FOLK BAND

MATICIARIK

FROM BANSKA BYSTRICA

I have to admit that the folk band Maticiarik is, I would say, my baby. I am the leader and the manager of the band from its very "beginnings," which was not a long time ago. Only 4 months have passed since we met for the first time and today we already have our own repertoire that we proudly show to the others.

Let me start from the beginning.

Matica Slovenska, the cultural organization with its center in Martin, has its branches in many towns. Banska Bystrica is one off them. And what kind of Slovak wouldn't keep the relations with national traditions and folklore ?
At the Banska Bystrica branch of Matica, a children's folk group Maticiarik has worked for several years already. The performances of children-dancers were always accompanied by accordion and therefore the leaders of the folk group-Erika Mesikovs and Jozko Mesik decided, that it's about time to have their own folk band. The girls and boys, who at the beginning were coming to Matica with big question mark in their eyes, today, after 4 months have their first performances behind them. They accompanied dancers at performances in small villages of central Slovakia. There is also a very skilled girl- singer in the group, who likes singing with our merry band. The musicians do not only accompany the dancers, but they already have their own "runda." Runda is a mixture of 4-5 folk songs, it starts with slow songs, then it gets faster and finishes in very fast "tempo." It's a pity that this newsletter hasn't gotten a sound, so that you could have the pleasure of children's play.
On April 22, children had a performance in the village Budca, close to Zvolen, where the people celebrated the 50th anniversary of the village's liberation (the end of Second World War). The band played and sang songs of this region. By the time this issue of your newsletter will be published, they will have more performances and competitions on their "list." They'll take part at the folk festival in Detva and maybe also in Vychodna. Later on in the summer they will be performing in Serbia and Italy.
Children from the folk band Maticiarik are very lively, as all the other kids. They are also hardworking and disciplined, willing to practice and repeat things over and over, if it's needed. Working with them is a great pleasure. They "fell in love" with the folk songs and they put this beautiful feeling into their play. They are happy that they can say hello to you and proud that they'll be in your newsletter.

Hellos and best regards from: primaska Linda, kontras Mirko, cimbal-players Gabika and Janka, accordion-player Mato, bass-player Erik and the singer Sosan.

Yours Dana

Dana Hodulova
A. Bernolaka 2
962 12 Detva
Slovakia

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Published in the Slovak Heritage Live newsletter Volume 3, No.2, Summer 1995
Copyright © Vladimir Linder 1995 
3804 Yale Street, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5C 1P6
The above article and photographs may not be copied, reproduced, republished, or redistributed by any means including electronic, without the express written permission of Vladimir Linder. All rights reserved.