Moe Lemieux is an 81-year-old pianist and real estate agent. Stephen Vallières is a remarkable 27-year-old vocalist living with autism. Together, they make up an unlikely and beloved pair. In this interview, The Broadway Pleasers explain how their dynamic duo came to be, what fuels their love of music, and what the future has in store for them.
How and when did you meet each other?
Moe: I drove special needs kids and Stephen was one of them. I met him for the first time when he was nine years old, but I didn’t know that we would end up playing music together until two years later at the Kinsmen School. One of Stephen’s music teachers realized that he had a tremendous voice, and she suggested that we play in the Christmas show together. I played the piano while Stephen sang, and we both really enjoyed it. After that, we performed at the Kinsmen Music Festival together for several years.
Have you always had a passion for music?
Stephen: Yes, I’ve always loved singing for the world. I feel happy when I sing to all my fans.
Moe: I’ve always loved music. My dad had me take piano lessons when I was five years old. He was a self-taught musician, and had a combination barbershop and confectionery store where he also sold sheet music. Growing up I had access to all kinds of music. For 33 years I had my own trio on the Canadian Empress, the St. Lawrence Cruise Line out of Kingston. I also performed in a number of musicals with Glenn Productions. Music has been a big influence throughout my life, and it’s something I’ve always enjoyed.
What other live shows have you done?
Stephen: We’ve performed at Arts In The Park at Lamoureux Park as well as the Lions’ Club Band Shell in Cornwall and Prescott. We do many songs, including ones from Phantom of the Opera, The Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof, On a Clear Day, The Wizard of Oz, and more.
What is the best part of performing in front of a crowd?
Stephen: I love singing to all my fans. My favourite part is interacting with the crowd.
Moe: I really enjoy performing live with Stephen because he’s a true performer, he loves to entertain people. He’ll talk to the crowd, I’ll tell ya. He’s very talented, and he’s got a wonderful voice. He amazes me.
I heard that you, Stephen, can sing in many languages. Is that true?
Stephen: I sing in 8 different languages, including English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Thai. I learned all of these languages because I am a language translator. Japanese is my favourite language to sing in. One of my favourite songs to sing is a Japanese love song and my favourite anthem is ‘Oh Canada’.
How often do you get together to play music?
Moe: We get together once a week to rehearse. During the pandemic, we haven’t done many live performances, but we’ve been trying to post videos of us performing together every three or four months on our Facebook. A few months ago we performed at the Sandfield Place nursing home. We sang lots of older songs, and everyone listened and enjoyed it. We’ve also sent our videos to Autism Canada, and we’ve gotten quite a bit of response from that.
What can we expect to see next from The Broadway Pleasers?
Moe: We’re planning a fifteen-minute sing-along in November that will feature older songs. We’ll also be doing a short Christmas special in December. Next spring we’re hoping to do a tribute to Frank Sinatra, and in the summer we’d like to do some videos featuring French and Italian songs.
Follow Moe and Stephen—and watch videos of their musical performances—on their Facebook page: @thebroadwaypleasers.
