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The Maine Arts Commission Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Awardees- Fiscal Year 2004
 Oscar Mokeme, Portland
Oscar Mokeme lives in Portland. Seated opposite each other across a drum, Mokeme and his son Obi begin chanting a song, Nwa Nunu, or Little Bird. The little bird is a metaphor for following the passion in one’s life, wherever it leads. Following the passion in his life is a skill Oscar Mokeme has learned well. Descended from the Igbo people of Nigeria, he is part of a tradition of healing that stretches back for generations in his family. It is a healing art that Oscar says is comprised of being about to help others develop their vision, and provide guidance during transition. He learned the arts from his grandfather, and he is the first generation from his family to bring its healing arts to America. Oscar is making sure he is not the last. He is currently passing his skills to his sons Obi and Ibe. “When I look at their lives, I see they don’t have those things my ancestors put in me, and I find that I’m obligated to teach them this tradition. Oscar is descended from traditional healers in Africa. His traditional healing practices include the use of masks that tell spiritual stories related to healing. Oscar also directs the Museum of African Tribal Art in Portland.
 Normand Gagnon, Rumford
Normand Gagnon, of Rumford is a Quebec-born accordionist who moved to the Rumford area in 1971. He began playing at the age of nine, and has performed extensively in Maine at French-Canadian Festivals. All of Normand’s family played music, even though none ever took lessons. He plays reels, waltzes, jigs and polkas, and learned tunes from family and friends, and by listening to the radio. A friend who made frequent trips to Prince Edward Island also brought the occasional recording back to Maine.
Bud Kluchnik, Ripley
At Ripley, Bud Kluchnik has been teaching his apprentice, Shawn O’Donnel the art of making Canadian head yokes and working oxen. For his first effort, Shawn built a bow yoke starting from a tree. “Building this yoke, however, did more than teach one individual, or allow a pair of steers to work” says Kluchnik. Kluchnik says the project also taught a multitude of lessons, including woodworking, safety, culture, tradition, and animal husbandry. Kluchnik calls the oxen he drives “solar powered tractors,” “If you wanted to, you could still do it the old way, and you could do just as much… It isn’t just having oxen compared to having tractors, It’s a life style…There’s no personality in a tractor. You can’t eat the tractor when you’re done."
 Cynthia Larock, Lewiston
Stepdancer Cindy Larock, of Lewiston, is a veteran of the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship program. She studied as an apprentice with Quebecois master Benoit Bourque, a member of the acclaimed Canadian music ensemble, Le Vent du Nord. After studying with Bourque, Larock became a master in her own right, taking on apprentices. Currently she is teamed up with apprentice Donna Casavant. Larock founded the youth folk dance ensemble Les Pieds Rigolants (The Giggling Feet), which she coaches in performances throughout Maine. Casavant grew up hearing stories of Saturday night family dances, and remembers her grandfather dancing in his chair to the music he played on his harmonica.
 Fred Légère, Jay
Fred Légère was born in Riley, New Brunswick, and moved to Jay when he was twelve years old. He learned the harmonica as a child, and learned some of his tunes from the Canadian fiddler Don Messer, who broadcast French Canadian music from his radio show on Prince Edward Island. In addition to the musical traditions, Légère is also a woodcarver. His music is often accompanied by the wooden dancing men that he carves. Légère turns peach pits into watch fobs, tiny baskets, and carved ducks.
Rachel LeBlanc and Lucie Ouellette
Rachel grew up listening to the songs sung by her father, Joseph Ouellette. Some of these Acadian ballads, known in French as complaints, can be traced to the Napoleonic Rachel LeBlanc and her daughter, Lucie Ouellette, Live in the St. John Valley, where Wars. Some tell of tragedies in the logging camps. Rachel and Lucie have worked with a group of women from the St. John Valley, teaching them some of the songs her father taught her, making sure another generation is still singing the songs.
Pirun Sen
Pirun Sen, of Portland, came to the United States from Cambodia more than twenty years ago and immediately began seeking out other musicians in Portland and nearby areas in order to keep alive the music he knew as a young man in Cambodia. For Pirun, the drumbeat becomes the sound of the human heart, and the music itself, a reflective experience that focuses all his attention. He currently leads the Samaki Ensemble, an ensemble of Cambodian musicians who play throughout Maine and New England. His apprentice, Anthony Chhem, of Portland is in his second year of apprenticeship, and hopes to become a musician in his own right, performing with the Samaki, and other ensembles.
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