Album Notes

Nick Bratkovich was born in Milwaukee WI in 1951. He is a son of Serbian parents who immigrated to the United States after World War II. He began playing the accordion at age 6 and started his first band at age 13, the popular Šumadija Orchestra of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He performed with this group throughout the 60's at Serbian churches and ethnic folk festivals in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Ontario, Canada. During the 70's he was a member of the famous Beograd Orchestra of Milwaukee, performing at the Saratoga Lounge on South 16th Street. It was during this time that he expanded his repertoire to include not only Serbian music, but Balkan and International folk music as well. While living in Texas during the 80's, he performed solo for both Serbian and International folk dancers in Dallas, Austin and Houston. He currently lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma with his wife Nancy. They have three grown children living in Texas, Louisiana and Utah. He still performs with the original members of the Šumadija Orchestra, now known as the Kumovi Orchestra of Los Angeles, California, and he also enjoys performing solo for international folk dancers in Wisconsin, Oklahoma, and Texas.

The Balkan Melodies CD is produced by Bratkovich Music of Tulsa OK. All MIDI and acoustic instruments, all vocals, all arrangements, and all orchestrations are performed by Nick Bratkovich. All original compositions are copyrighted and published by Bratkovich Music. The music consists of traditional Serbian, Bulgarian, Greek, Hungarian, Macedonian and Romanian music, as well as original compositions. International folk dancers will recognize many of their favorite songs.