Slovenian Music in Canada

The first substantial Canadian immigration from Slovenia (the northwestern region of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, which was renamed Yugoslavia in 1929) occurred 1918-29. Peasants and labourers moved to Ontario, many becoming farmers on the Niagara peninsula. An influx of professionals and tradesmen to Toronto began after World War II. In 1986 there were an estimated 8,000 Slovenian-Canadians. In large Slovenian settlements, the first musical organization to be formed usually has been a choir, sponsored by a church (Roman Catholic is the major denomination) or cultural association. In the mid-1970s a dozen Slovenian choirs flourished in major cities from Montreal to Vancouver. Folk dance groups were associated with less than half of these groups. There also were several bands, each consisting of a singer, an accordionist, a clarinetist, a trumpeter, and, occasionally, a guitarist, which played polkas and waltzes at weddings and at parties sponsored by cultural associations. The most famous Slovenian-Canadian musician is the accordionist Walter Ostanek of St Catharines, Ont. One of Canada's Mr Polkas (Gaby Haas is another), Ostanek has made many recordings for the Arc, Axe, and Marathon labels and is known throughout North America.