Brazil Day 2 - 1st day in Petropolis

After being welcomed by our host families on Friday evening, we gathered at 11:00am the next morning at the private school 'Bom Jesus'. There, we were met by Marco, the conductor of the boys' choir 'Canarinhos', who together with Frau Lohse organized our stay in Petropolis. Marco studied in Germany and has been working at the school for 18 years. His 'Canarinhos', which translates to 'Canaries', are the most significant boys' choir in all of Brazil. They regularly sing in church services and achieve success through concert tours both domestically and internationally, as well as numerous album recordings. We were allowed to rehearse in the Canarinhos' rehearsal room for about two hours and afterwards, we were treated to a meal in the school cafeteria by the kitchen staff, who were supposed to have the day off. We expressed our gratitude for their dedication with applause and a small song.

After lunch, we all went together to downtown Petropolis. Petropolis is a state in Rio de Janeiro, founded on March 16, 1843, and currently has about 312,000 residents. Once we arrived there, we went to the cathedral where we had a concert that evening. The neo-gothic cathedral, along with the Imperial Museum and the Crystal Palace, is one of the most famous sights in Petropolis. It was built around 1900, can accommodate around 500 visitors, and it houses the sarcophagi of the imperial family. We were all immediately impressed by its gigantic size and extraordinary acoustics! After a brief rehearsal, we headed back to our host families to rest and have something to eat. At 7:30pm, the concert began together with the Canarinhos and the girls' choir of 'Bom Jesus'. The highlight of the evening was undoubtedly the completely unrehearsed performance of the New Chamber Choir with the Canarinhos, singing 'Denn er hat seinen Engeln' from Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy's Elias, followed by a standing ovation from the enthusiastic audience. We then spent the evening individually with our host families. In short, it was a very eventful and beautiful first day in Petropolis.