For Lancaster native and University of Pittsburgh senior Cody McSherry, weekends and college breaks are best spent with the “Tamily.”
No, that’s not a typo. Cody McSherry, a classically trained accordionist and organist, has spent the last four years traveling across the country to perform with renowned folk performance group the Tamburitzans — or, as its members refer to it, the “Tamily.”
The group shares the music and dance traditions of Bulgaria, Poland and other countries, and has long made Lancaster County one of its tour stops.
And now, this Saturday at 3 p.m., Cody McSherry will perform his last local show with the Tamburiztans at Warwick Middle School before he graduates college in the spring. After graduating, Cody McSherry is planning to enroll in graduate school.
“It feels bizarre, for sure, and there’s a lot of bittersweet feelings of being able to enjoy my last home show with the Tams,” Cody McSherry says. “But I’m just hoping that we get an enormous audience, it’s that more fun that way.”
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The Tamburitzans are a nonprofit, collegiate and scholarship-based dance troupe based in Pittsburgh. They combine the dance and music traditions of several Eastern and Southern European cultures, touring the country to share history and music through high-energy performances, says executive director Alyssa Bushunow.
“It creates the space for everyone,” Bushunow says. “We have people that are tied to us because they like the historical cultural perspective, people who are tied to us because they feel connected through the students and the scholarship, and then we have some people who just love a good show.”
The group is currently touring its new show, “Legacy.”
“We’re performing dances and music from four completely separate cultures, a cultural experience that you can really only get through this,” Cody McSherry says. “It’s something that you can only really know with the experience of seeing it.”
Joining the ‘Tamily’
Cody McSherry joined the Tamburitzans through an audition process during his senior year of high school. Auditioning in voice, dance and music, he then joined as the group’s resident accordionist his freshman year at Pitt.
Since joining, he has also taken a paid position as the Tamburitizans’ wardrobe assistant, maintaining, cleaning and preserving all of the company’s historical and cultural costuming.
To Cody McSherry, the “Tamily” is a rigorous but rewarding commitment. While completing coursework as a senior with a triple-major in Slovak studies, French and classics, he spends the weekends traveling with the Tamburitzans to perform shows across the country, from Indiana to Nevada.
“Once you’re a Tammy, you’re always a Tammy. These friendships are the strongest I’ve ever had,” Cody McSherry says. “I’ve performed with these people for four years now, and every weekend, you really grow with the same people.”
CODY MCSHERRY PERFORMS IN 2020 AT LANCASTER CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL
After he graduates in the spring, Cody McSherry hopes to pursue graduate school and eventually get his doctorate, sharing the world of Eastern Europe through academia.
“I think there’s a lot of performing that’s involved in teaching,” Cody McSherry says. “It’s the other way of sharing your love for the culture.”
Tickets for the show range from $28 to $38 for general admission and between $18 and $28 for students. More information is available at thetamburitzans.org/events/tickets.
Local ‘Legacy’
Cody McSherry, of Manheim Township, started playing the accordion when he was 6 years old. Taking inspiration from his piano teacher, he fell in love with the instrument and the sounds of folk music. The same teacher inspired him to take up the organ, too.
When he was 8, he saw the Tamburitzans perform in Mount Gretna with his parents. After talking to and playing with the group’s then accordionist after the show, he knew he would join the group someday.
“He was just mesmerized. We all were. It was an incredible show,” says Dianna McSherry, Cody’s mom. “He was just a little 8 year old, they let him play a Tarantella (folk dance), and the dancers came back out on stage and started dancing for him. He was hooked at that point.”
Cody McSherry, a 2021 graduate of Lancaster Catholic High School, has performed in productions with the Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre and Servant Stage Company. He’s also the founder of his own Lancaster-based Polka band, “Polterabend,” and a member of the Steelton-based Kolo Club Marian, a Croatian folk dance group.
In 2016, a 13-year-old Cody McSherry won LNP | LancasterOnline’s “Lancaster’s Got Talent” competition. Just two years later, he performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Now 21, Cody McSherry spends his time learning new songs, scales and acquiring new types of accordions as he explores the Alpine roots of his instrument.
CODY MCSHERRY PERFORMS FOR LANCASTER’S GOT TALENT
Cody McSherry will continue to perform shows with the Tamburitzans through the end of the year, including dates as far as Illinois and Indiana.
“It’s just amazing to see. He loves it, and you can tell he really loves bringing the cultures and the music to the audience,” Dianna McSherry says. “I’m really most proud that he’s a kind and considerate and caring person, that he’s always kind to people.”
The Tamburitzans say he will be missed.
“We are kind of used to this natural ebbing and flowing of talent, when someone leaves, we find someone to replace that hole,” Bushunow says. “With Cody, that hole is quite large.”