Lilla Serlegi
Inducted - San Francisco 2011
Lilla Serlegi was raised in the Croatian community of Horvatzsidany in western Hungary. This area and the neighboring Burgenland in Austria are exceptionally rich in Croatian culture. Though Lilla grew up in Hungary, Croatian was her primary language. From early childhood Lilla was recognized as gifted in music. As a young child, she took up the tamburitza, and trained with Drazen Soic, one of the best tamburitza teachers in Croatia. She performed with traditional Croatian tamburitza bands in neighboring villages in western Hungary including Zidanski Becari, Veseli Gradiscanci, Kojnofski Tamburasi, and Bizonjski Tamburasi. She also performed with the Peruska Marija Choir, which played a prominent role in the cultural life in her predominantly Croatian village in Hungary.

Consequently, Lilla mastered the traditional cultural rituals associated with tamburitza music in both the Croatian and Hungarian cultures. She is highly experienced and comfortable performing and teaching the traditional songs and dances associated with the yearly cycle of festivals. Currently, Lilla plays prim, brac and sings with the Slavonian Traveling Band and Novi Stari Tamburasi. She recently presented her own concert, Lilla Serlegi: Music from the Alps to the Adriatic,in the Culture at the Crossroads concert series at the Croatian American Cultural Center in San Francisco.