Anciennes Chansons de France – A Musical Journey Across the Regions of France

ODETTE KERMORVANT-SELLON was born on the South shore of Brittany in the presqu’île de Quiberon. Later she spent the second part of her adolescence in Charente Maritime where she attended a boarding school, a “lycée” in a medieval town 70 miles North of Bordeaux. She concluded her secondary education at PSU and taught Special Education for multi-handicapped students with Multnomah Education Service District for 15 years. She switched careers and was a Real Estate Broker in Oregon for 35+ years. She became an American citizen in 1987. Her hobbies include singing, playing the Mountain Dulcimer and Hammered Dulcimer, knitting, reading, travelling, and working in the yard. She has lived in Tigard for almost 50 years. Every year, she visits her family and many friends in France. She has been singing with various choirs since 1981. She is a church song leader and soloist, and has performed with local choirs including the Mount Hood Pop Orchestra, for weddings, funerals, and other events. Her first voice teacher was Elizabeth Pharris who taught voice following a long career with the New York City Opera and the San Francisco Opera. Later, Odette studied under Barbara Custer between 2002 and 2019. Odette sang for over twenty five years with Norma Collins, also a student of Elizabeth Pharris. Together, Norma and Odette made up their own arrangements for their twice yearly performances with dulcimers and other instruments.