Tambura
Kristina Vaskys
Kristina hails from Brooklyn, NY, and joins us at Balkanalia for the first time! She’s an accomplished tambura player as well as singer and music teacher, and is a singer and instrumentalist in Macedonian village ensemble Niva. At Balkanalia she will join the all-star Macedonian band Staro Selo on tambura.
Tupan / Percussion
Jerry Kisslinger
One of North America’s foremost presenters of Balkan rhythms, percussionist Jerry Kisslinger has performed at community events, concerts, and festivals for decades. On the faculty of the East European Folklife Center’s Balkan Music and Dance workshops since 1985, he teaches, in person and online for the EEFC at workshops in the US and abroad, and with private students.
Jerry is a founding member of Zlatne Uste Balkan Brass Band and currently plays with ZU and Kavala Brass Band as well as Pontic Firebird. He was privileged to learn directly from master Macedonian gajdazhi and dance teacher Pece Atanasovski and other masters. He has played with the Yuri Yunakov Orchestra and other top Balkan groups in the US. Jerry’s discography includes Édessa and Friends: Balkan Border Music, and Di Shikere Kapelye, with Frank London’s Klezmer Brass All Stars, as well as four recordings with Zlatne Uste and guest appearances on Raif Hyseni 24 and Dolunay’s Our House. He loves to share his energy and insight with students and is proud to be called a dancer’s drummer.