Day 2 - Workshop & first concert

Since our first activity wasn't until midday, we had time in the morning to sleep in with our host families or to take our first excursions. At noon, we met at the Instituto DOS Meninos Cantores de Petrópolis (a Franciscan school), where we met the singers of the girls' choir Coral das Meninas de Canarinhos de Petrópolis. There, we were greeted by Rose de Mello, the wife of our long-time contact, Marco Aurélio Lischt, who is currently working in China. We had lunch together in the cafeteria before starting a joint workshop around 2 p.m. We taught the Brazilian girls two of our South African pieces and "Der Mond ist aufgegangen" (The Moon Has Risen), and in return, they rehearsed the Brazilian piece "Azulāo," a famous Brazilian art song, with us. Afterward, we had a short rehearsal for the upcoming evening. After that, we had another two hours to prepare for the concert, and around 6 pm we met at the Sacred Heart Church in Petropolis for a rehearsal and our first concert.

The girls' choir opened the concert with three Brazilian pieces, and we were quickly impressed by their skill. We followed with a varied program, ranging from Brahms to Rihanna, and then sang the songs we had rehearsed earlier as a grand finale. Immediately after the concert, we took a group photo, and many also took the opportunity to have a photo taken with their host families.

We spent the rest of the evening with our families and were excited for the next day.