National Cleveland Style Polka Hall of Fame and Museum
605 East 222nd Street
Euclid, OH 44123
USA
E-mail: Polkashop@aol.com
Phone: 216-261-3263
Toll Free: 1-800-66POLKA
Fax: 216-261-4134
Ivan Zorman, Sr. was the "Johnny Apple (strudel) seed" of Slovenian music. Born in
Slovenia and a student at the Conservatory of Music in Vienna, Ivan played in the
orchestra of Johann Strauss, Jr., the world-famous Waltz King. Coming to America
in 1883, Ivan founded the first Slovenian orchestras in the U.S. (Calumet, Michigan
-1895; the "Austrian Cornet Band," Cleveland - 1897) and served as an organist, choir
director, teacher, and bandmaster in Slovenian-American communities around the country,
including Leadville, Colorado, and fly, Minnesota, before finally settling in Cleveland
circa 1903. Based primarily at St. Paul's Church, Ivan composed religious and secular
music, founded several Slovenian singing societies, organized a brass band, and taught
vocal and instrumental music. A major thread in the fabric of Slovenian-American
culture, Ivan Zorman, Sr. nurtured the music that would become the basis for Cleveland-Style
Polkas.
Inducted in 1997
www.polkafame.com © National Cleveland Style Polka Hall of Fame and Museum, 605
East 222nd Street, Euclid, OH 44123, USA.
