- Stephen M. Wolownik
Stephen M. "Steve" Wolownik (
July 22 ,1946 ) - (May 18 ,2000 ) was a pioneer in theRussia n andEastern Europe anmusic community in theUnited States . He was a co-founder of the [http://www.bdaa.com Balalaika and Domra Association of America] .Biography
Born in
Chester, Pennsylvania , Wolownik grew up with Russian and Ukrainian music. As a child and young adult, he participated in thebalalaika orchestra at St. Nicholas'sRussian Orthodox Church in Philadelphia under the tutelage of Paul Kauriga of the Kovriga Balalaika Orchestra. He also played under Anastasia Karnow.Wolownik received a
bachelor's degree from theUniversity of Pennsylvania , where he founded the University of Pennsylvania Balalaika Orchestra (commonly known as "PennBO" or "Penn Balalaika Orchestra") in 1964. PennBO was unique in that, with the exception of theTamburitzans at Pittsburgh'sDuquesne University , it was the only university-level music ensemble dedicated solely to Eastern European music.He later moved to Los Angeles, where he received a
master's degree inethnomusicology from theUniversity of California, Los Angeles . While there, he founded another balalaika group, theOdessa Balalaikas. Later, he founded balalaika groups inHouston andAtlanta .After returning to Philadelphia from Los Angeles, Wolownik received a master's degree in library science from Drexel University, whereupon he worked as a reference librarian at the Lippincott Library of the
Wharton School . He also co-founded two morebalalaika ensembles, [http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/Bayou/5961/balaruss.html The Balalaika Russe] and [http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/Bayou/5961/gyp-bala.htm The Gypsy Balalaikas] , the members of both of which were from the Philadelphia area.Wolownik also continued directing the Penn Balalaika Orchestra until its demise in 1996.
He later moved to
Mount Laurel, New Jersey , where he was an assistant library director at the Mount Laurel Public Library until his death in 2000. Wolownik is buried in Lawn Croft Cemetery inLinwood, Pennsylvania , in the shadow of his boyhood home.Influence
Wolownik is largely credited with reviving interest in the
cabaret -style balalaika ensemble in the United States and reconnecting the balalaika anddomra with theirpeasant roots. Popular in the teens and twenties, the cabaret-style ensemble usually had no more than 10 members and played in small, intimate settings, often performing pieces which were not precisely Russian in appellation, but perhaps more Gypsy,Jewish , or Ukrainian in origin. The cabaret-style ensemble fell into disfavor with the rise ofCommunism , asSoviet government preferred huge Andreyev-style state-run ensembles with elaborate orchestralarrangement s as sort of an antipode to the Western orchestra.Wolownik, having established balalaika societies and groups in
Atlanta ,Maine , andPennsylvania , was well-known in the balalaika community in the United States and abroad for his simple yet deep arrangements of tunes for small balalaika ensembles. In keeping with the cabaret tradition, Wolownik did not limit himself strictly to Russian music, but also arrangedRomania n, Hungarian, Moldavian, Gypsy, andklezmer tunes, some of which had never been played on anything other than the native instruments for which they were composed.Despite his commitment to serious musicianship, some have claimed that Wolownik, who had an irreverent sense of humor, was a living embodiment of the
skomorokhi of old Russia, street musicians who actively poked fun at both theTsar s and the Church.The Balalaika and Domra Association of America now numbers several hundred members. It is actively involved in promoting traditional Russian music in the United States. It holds a yearly convention in which luminaries of Russian music participate by teaching and performing.
External links
* [http://www.penn-balalaika.com The University of Pennsylvania Balalaika Orchestra - Balalaika Sheet Music and Tribute Page]
* [http://www.bdaa.com/ The Balalaika and Domra Association of America]
* [http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/Bayou/5961/gyp-bala.htm The Gypsy Balalaikas]
* [http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/Bayou/5961/balaruss.html The Balalaika Russe]
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