Choir Carica Milica from Pittsburgh

My name is Snezana Lazich, granddaughter of Very Reverend George Lazich and daughter of Milutin Lazich. I grew up first generation Serbian in the United States. Both my parents are from Belgrade, Serbia. Music was always present in our house. I was raised in a household that always had music playing in the background or my mother would always be singing beautiful nostalgic songs from her childhood. I think that is why my brother, Dimitrie and I grew up and have careers in music.

I created Carica Milica in February 2014 to represent the female population of Serbian singers in the Pittsburgh area in order to sustain Serbian music and culture. The group sings repertoire from the countries of the former Yugoslavia: Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia, Montenegro and Kosovo.

When I formed Carica Milica, I wanted something new and exciting. Up to this point, all the Serbian church choirs sang the same, monotonous music at every festival and concert. It was very difficult to find arrangements in the Serbian language for an all-female choral ensemble. I did not want to arrange all of the music that I heard on YouTube and old cassette tapes. I asked the Serbian Singing Federation in Detroit, Michigan for any music for female voices and received some very old arrangements of women’s choral music, but nothing suited our ensemble. I then turned to friends and colleagues in Canada and Belgrade. Through these resources, I found several arrangements of repertoire that I could use. After our first meeting, the ladies of Carica Milica were very excited about the music selections. However, I wanted a more modern approach to a Serbian choir. I chose repertoire that had a taste of the old, with a new twist. I called it, “folk fusion.”  Our repertoire is sacred and secular, leaning more towards modern and folk traditions of Serbian music and culture.

I carefully chose the singers of Carica Milica from the four Serbian Orthodox churches in the Pittsburgh area. As a member of the Pittsburgh Serbian community and a member of these choirs, I knew most of the talented and committed singers. Two male choirs already existed in the area, Czar Lazar and Kosovo, but there was not a female choir. I thought that Pittsburgh needed a group for the Serbian female population who was ready to commit to rehearsals and learn music in order to perpetuate the Serbian culture. The singers, whom I chose, both young and more mature, wanted to be in a musically challenging and disciplined choral ensemble. More importantly, I wanted singers who would demonstrate a higher level of commitment and musicality than is required in their regular church choirs. I also wanted to choose singers whose voices and personalities suited each order to create a positive camaraderie and present musical harmony.

The look of an ensemble is very important to me. I wanted a different look, not traditional black and white. I discussed this with my mother, and we decided to mimic the look of the female cabaret group, Frajle. Frajle is a band of four women from Novi Sad, a city outside of Belgrade. Their remakes of old Serbian tunes and Russian-gypsy music to current pop-rock songs, as well as their individualized character costumes, make them significantly different from the rest of the music scene. When I first saw them on YouTube, I was hooked! They were fresh, full of energy, and offered a style of music that was unique. Each singer had her own outfit that represented her individual character. I decided that the women of Carica Milica would wear black dresses or black blouses and skirts that matched their character. Their outfits would be accompanied by big stage pearls and signature red shoes. You would not believe how many different styles of black dresses and skirts there are until you give your singers the freedom to choose! It was so cool, and refreshing!

When I chose the look of the ensemble, the music, and the name of our Serbian female singers, Carica Milica, I wanted to make sure that we always portrayed strong and independent women as a tribute to the Empress (Carica) Milica. She was pure in heart, a symbol of virtue, wise, courageous, the wife of a hero, and a devout Christian.

            In the past five years of existence, Carica Milica has been invited to perform in Kitchener, Ontario; Joliet, Illinois; Steelton, PA; New York City for the Saint Sava Gala; Akron, Ohio and places around the Pittsburgh area. Some of the pieces that we have sung are as follows; “Ja Sam Zena,” “Moj Dilbere,” Dodolske Pesme,” Duni mi Duni,” “Biljana Platno Belese,” “Eleno Kerko,” Razgranala Grana Jorgovana,” and “Srpkinja”

  Some Quotes from the Singers of Carica Milica

“Performing in a choir results in the same release of “feel good” hormones that occurs when a person exercises or eats chocolate. On a personal note, singing in the Carica Milica Choir is absolute joy. There is a pride and tradition in our Slavic heritage that enhances the usual enjoyment and satisfies the need to learn both new kinds of music and traditional music expressed in innovative ways. Our director’s ideas and musicality are unlimited. Singing in the Carica Milica Choir has truly enriched my life.” -Cissy Rebich

 “It is empowering to be a part of Carica Milica, particularly as women who perpetuate our Serbian culture. We get the fulfillment of singing our (Serbian) music with other singers who are also excellent and leave proud after rehearsals and performances.” -Mary Magdic

“I am just doing it for the red shoes! Ooh-la-la!”       -Nada James

            Creating Carica Milica has reinforced my pride in being a strong Serbian woman. I am so grateful to my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins who remain great influences in my life. Forming Carica Milica was the best thing that I could have done to perpetuate my rich Serbian culture and heritage. Not only am I teaching American-Serbian women from the Pittsburgh area our language and our music, I am also providing a performance outlet. We are preserving and sharing our beautiful music with others. It is our goal and mission, as Serbian-Americans to uphold our Slava, our Serbian Orthodox religion, our music and our language. We intend to proudly pass all of these down to our children, for generations to come.