Students from both sides of the border come together in a show of harmony. About 50 students from the North Country performed songs on Canadian history at Fort Chambly in Quebec recently. French-Language students from Lake Placid and Saranac High Schools, along with students from H&H Music Studio in Plattsburgh performed several songs, in French, for elementary school students from Montreal. The American students also studied the history of the songs as part of a project to learn about French-Quebec heritage and culture.
The project was designed around a 2015 Local Heritage Grant from the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership through the Lake Champlain Basin Program. David Graham, a French instructor at Clinton Community College and SUNY Plattsburgh French professor Margaret Leone teamed up with teachers Cara Atkinson from Lake Placid, Theresa Figoni from Saranac, and music instructor Wanda Haby. Several of the songs the students performed were written by professional singer Josee Vachon, who was born in Quebec, but lives in New England.