Sliva Family

The story of the von Trapp Family Singers is quite extraordinary: The
family flees Austria and emigrates to America where they establish
their singing troupe. To say the very least, Naperville has their own,
miniature version of the von Trapp Family.
Renata and Vladimir Sliva have lived in Naperville for the past 24
years. Their eight children have been playing and performing at
concerts in the area for almost all of those 24 years. Their story is
extremely riveting to listen to.
As citizens of the former Czechoslovakia, Renata and Vladimir Sliva
lived under Communist rule. Their sole ambition became to escape the
tyrannical system and live in a place of true freedom. Packing just a
couple of suitcases, the two escaped Czechoslovakia by taking a
honeymoon to Italy. Unlike most couples' honeymoons, the "Sliva
honeymoon" never actually has an end. In fact, it is still going on
today. After an eight month stay in a refugee camp in Italy, Renata
and Vladimir just kept on moving west to Chicago, becoming American
citizens and escaping Communism.
Their first son, Peter, was born in a suburb of Chicago. They then
moved to Naperville and proceeded to have a baby girl, Anna, in
Edward's Hospital. After that, the children started arriving one by
one. Mark was born in New York during a family vacation; Luke in a
hospital nearer to Chicago; and the four youngest, Catherine, Martha,
Monica, and Mary, followed their older sister's path and were born in
Edward's Hospital.
Renata and Vladimir, realizing music drives a child to excellence,
decided to pair up each of their children with an instrument by the
age of three or four. The Sliva children have regularly been
performing together as an ensemble. Once or twice a year, they come
together to share their love for music with the community. On December
28th, at 7 PM, the Sliva children are hosting a family Christmas
concert at Holy Spirit Catholic Community located on the intersection
of Hassert Boulevard and Book Road. It is wondrously inspiring to see
all eight of the children playing, singing, and laughing together.
They truly are Naperville's very own "von Trapp Family".

Singing and playing has always been one of the most important family
activities for this family. This is especially true during the
Christmas season as preparing for various concerts becomes inseparable
from decorating the house and baking cookies.
The family’s eight children, ages 13-25, have all had musical training
and most of them have continued studying music to some extent beyond
high school. The family ensemble consists of 3 violins, 1 viola, 2
cellos and 2 piano/organs. A substantial part of the program consists
of classical music, and the program this year will include Dvorak’s
American string quartet among others.
For the past 4 years, the Slivas have invited another family to
perform Christmas concerts with them. These guests are the 5 Glimco
siblings, ages 13-22, who all sing, and will again combine their
talents with the Slivas this season. Together, the two families will
perform several Christmas carols.
According to the parents there is no better family activity than
watching their children rehearse together in preparation for the
concerts. It becomes more challenging as their children get older and
move away but the effort is well worth it. The audience appreciates
the music and siblings learn to work together and appreciate each
other more, musically and otherwise.

The Sliva Siblings:
Peter, 25, Microsoft Engineer (piano)
Anna, 24, Johns Hopkins University (cello)
Mark, 21, Indiana University Violin Education Major (violin)
Luke, 19, DePaul University Violin Education Major (violin)
Catherine, 17, Neuqua Valley High School Senior (viola)
Martha, 16, Neuqua Valley High School Junior (piano and organ)
Monica, 14, Waubonsie Valley High School Freshman (cello)
Mary, 13, Scullen Middle School 7th Grader (violin)

For samples of the Sliva family’s past performances, please see:

http://www.psliva.com/concerts
http://www.youtube.com/vsliva


- Naperville Sun, December 23, 2009