Curitiba GMP Trip June 2013

This was Walt's 9th GMP trip and Nancy's 7th. Curitiba is special since this is where, in 2004 on his first Brazil trip, God originally touched Walt's heart about going to a foreign country someday and three years later we ended up where God wants us to be in Mexico and serving Him. This trip was a little different in that rather than performances at churches and masters classes in these churches, we were part of a program called Life and Music Space (LMS). This program began in Primeira Igreja Batista de Curitiba (PIB), the church we were working with. The program is designed to teach music to young people with the thought that focusing on music will help them take their focus off harmful distractions. The program was begun three or four years ago in the church and has since progressed to at least five schools with more to come. An important thing about the schools that are being contacted is that they are in the poorer parts of Curitiba, or the favelas. Currently there are approximately 500 students in the program. The sad part is that there are more students than instruments so the only opportunity they have to play is during lessons with no practice time at home. Our group, especially those from the US, were able to bring a large number of instruments and paraphernalia that was left behind for the program. We performed 13 concerts with six in church and the rest in the schools and locations associated with the program. Additionally about five masters classes were conducted where members of our team would work with instrumentalists in the various schools and at PIB.

There were a total of 21 of us in the group. Two were from Nairobi, Kenya, the two of us from Mexico and the rest from different states in the US. As usual, we all met for the first time when we got to Curitiba, had a two hour rehearsal and then off to the races. Here are some photos of our team.

To get a feel for PIB, the church we joined forces with, here are photos of the church. It is not only the size that impresses us but the fact that the building of the church is not complete, yet they worship and serve faithfully each and every day. They are so busy on a daily basis that there is someone at the front desk all the time and many people are continually coming and going. There seems to be something going on all the time, regardless of day or time of day that we were there.

In working with the people from PIB we made some new friends and renewed previous acquaintances in Brazil. Here are some photos of our Brazilian friends.

In support of the LMS program concerts were given at a number of the schools, some of which were already in the program and others that are interested in being part of it. The schools generally are in the poorer areas in Curitiba. All in all there was a large number of students and teachers, in some cases more than 200. In some of the schools that were in the program, the students gave us a sampling of what they had accomplished, which was very impressive. In each school we were very warmly welcomed. Here are some photos at some of the schools. 

We also gave concerts at PIB and at a Seventh Day Adventist Church. The concerts at PIB can be found here and the Seventh Day Adventist Church, which is a very large, are here. The orchestra at PIB easily consisted of 200 members or more making it a very enjoyable experience.

Again, the major reason we were in Curitiba was to support the LMS program. To give a glimpse of the program here are photos of working at the various schools with students participating in LMS. From these photos it can be seen that the students demonstrated what they have learned, we gave them concerts and worked with them as they gave public concerts. As part of the LMS program our group was involved in providing music instruction for the various instruments the students were working with. Here are photos of the Masters Classes and here is a video showing Masters Classes in session. 

A special treat for part of our group was to work with a local Christian jazz band. This band is the result of GMP Jazz Band trips to Curitiba in the past. So it was a great feeling to see something like this continuing. The band consisted of 13 saxophones, 10 trumpets, 8 trumpets and rhythm. Our brass and saxophone folks loved it because they could play for the whole concert. Since there is only one drummer, bassist and keyboard, the rhythm section had to trade off. Here are photos of the band and here is a video of the band playing. The trombone soloist was part of our GMP group.  Walt is not in the video since he was shooting it, but he did get to play some of the songs. With that many instruments, the sound level was measured at 102 db. However, needless to say it was an unforgettable experience. For musicians, note that the Doxology goes from a brass chorale sound to a pegleg waltz - cool. 

In spite of the busy schedule, we did manage to get around to see some of the sites in Curitiba. For Nancy it was great that she could now also see some of the sites that Walt saw nine years ago on his first GMP trip. Here are some photos of parts of Curitiba. 

Something that has intrigued us every time we have been to Brazil is the graffiti, it really is art rather than the type of graffiti we are accustomed to. Curitiba did not let us down and here are some of the graffiti that we saw. 

And, of course, one of the key things of a GMP trip is experiencing the food in various countries. Brazil is especially noted for this. We ate at several Pizza Rodizio restaurants. This type of service is where they continually bring on slices of various types of pizza until you say "enough". Then they bring on the dessert pizza. Needless to say you are satisfied at that point. The best known Rodizio type of Brazilian restaurant is the Churrascaria, where it is various cuts of meat that are brought to the table. They also have a tremendous salad and dessert bar. Here are some photos of us eating.