Nicholas Petrish
Croatian musician and instrument maker
Anacortes, WA
Nicholas Petrish is a master Croatian dancer, singer, musician, and lijerica
instrument maker. He is a third generation native of Skagit County and is a
member of the internationally known Vela Luka Croatian Folk Ensemble of Anacortes,
Washington, and the Sarajevo Croatian Dance Ensemble of Vancouver, B.C. Petrish has
danced with the Vela Luka Croatian Dance Ensemble for the last thirty-years. He is one of
the few people in North America who can both build and play the traditional Croatian
lijerica. He began his studies with the Folk Ensemble and continued to train with Nikola
Stjepovic, a master lijerica player, who is a native of Mrcevo, Croatia, residing in
Vancouver, B.C. In 1990, Mr. Petrish returned to Croatia to study with Jagoda Lonjuh,
the folklore director for Doli, Croatia. While in Croatia Petrish learned how to build
the lijerica and studied the instrument’s history and traditions. He also learned dances,
songs, and traditional costume styles associated with lijerica music. Petrish was awarded
a grant from Francesca Von Hapsburg during his visit to Croatia in 2004. With these
funds he made thirty lijerice. The lijerice instruments were gifted to Croatian children
the week before Christmas. In the last thirty-years Nicholas Petrish has taught and
performed all over Washington State. His commitment to preserving Croatian culture was
honored through a 2005 Folk Arts Fellowship Award.
The lijerica is a pear-shaped, stringed instrument used to accompany Croatian lindjo dance.
Petrish believes that lindjo dancing and lijerica music has the ability to create
connections between Croatians and non-Croatians. Lindjo is a traditional Croatian dance
that can be danced solo, in couples, or groups. As a recipient of a 1993 Apprenticeship
grant, Petrish taught John Lovric traditional lindjo dancing. John’s parents were born in
Croatia and he is a first-generation American. John now dances in the Vela Luka adult
ensemble.