St. Lawrence Adult Tammies — Directors

Director: Vinny Ban

Vinny first joined the St. Lawrence Jr. and Kolo Club Marian in 1987 and remained with both groups until he turned 21 in 1998. When he graduated from Penn State University in 2000, Vinny assisted the new Jr. Directors Marija Kurpan-Kuren and Rick Vukmanic until 2005, by helping with tuning of instruments, string replacements, and anything else needed by Marija & Rick.

When Vinny became Director in 2020, he asked Marija to be one of his assistants. Marija is a former and current member of the Kolo Club “Marian,” and she assists in the instruction of the Kolo Club members. Marija is also a former member of the St. Lawrence Junior Tamburitzans. In 1998, she became assistant director of the Juniors under Maria Michtich-Morris. In 1999, Marija became director of the Sv. Lovro Juniors Marija also served as past President of the Adult Tamburitzans from 2020 to 2022.

Unfortunately due to covid, the Adults did not perform under Vinny at the CFU Tamfest until 2021, when TamFest was held at the Seven Springs Mountain Resort. Vinny has led the St. Lawrence Adults at 4 TamFEST's: 2021 - Seven Springs Mountain Resort; 2023 - Pittsburgh, PA; 2024, Zagreb, Croatia; 2025 - Atlantic City, NJ. The group is currenlty working towards this year's TamFest, being held in Columbus, Ohio.

Also, when needed, Vinny assists the Sv. Lovro Jrs and the Kolo Club Marian as a member of their orchestra for performances.

Assistant Director: Marija Krpan Kuren

When Vinny became Director in 2020, he asked Marija to be one of his assistants. Marija is a former and current member of the Kolo Club "Marian", and she assists in the instruction of the Kolo Club members. Marija is also a former member of the St. Lawrence Junior Tamburitzans. In 1998, she became assistant director of the Juniors under Maria Michtich-Morris. In 1999, Marija took over as director of the Sv. Lovro Juniors. Marija also served as President of the Adult Tammies from 2020 to 2022.

Assistant Director: Steve Grassa

Steve became an assistant director in 2022, as well as the group president. Steve is also a former member of both the Sv. Lovro Jr's and Kolo Club Marian. Steve currently serves as orchestra director of both groups. Steve also leads the Croatian Masses as the annual St. Mary's Preservation Society Picnics. Steve is a founding and current member of both TS Zadnja Stanica, as well as TS Okolica.