By Barbara ScottStaff Writer
Caribou High students studying the French and Spanish languages recently had a chance to spend part of their morning with musical performer Josee Vachon, who has been sharing her Franco-American upbringing for over 25 years through traditional and contemporary folk songs. Vachon, born in Quebec and raised in Maine, began singing publicly with the support of the Franco-American Center at the University of Maine, where she discovered others who shared her rich heritage. After receiving her BA in romance languages in 1984, she continued to perform, quickly gaining recognition as a new Franco-American voice through early performances at state festivals in Lewiston and Madawaska.
In 1999 she received the National Culture through the Arts Award from New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers and was recently inducted into the French-Canadian Hall of Fame Class of 2007 for the American-French Genealogical Society.
Singing primarily in French, the performer also is fluent in Spanish and intertwines both languages in her music presentations.
While on stage at the Caribou Performing Arts Center, Vachon entertained and interacted with the CHS students as she sang traditional and contemporary French, Quebecois and Acadian folks songs, her own compositions and encouraged her audience to participate in sing-a-longs.
Wanda Theriault, head of the Caribou High School Foreign Language Program, commented, “The students really seemed to enjoy the music as well as Ms. Vachon’s way of explaining where some of the music originated, speaking of her travel experiences and encouraging the students to be a part of the music.”
