By Carter J. R. Kucier, ’23, staff writer
The LVC music department welcomes back a group of Brazilian exchange students for another year.
Each year since 2016, a group of music students from Brazil has come to study at LVC, engaging with the LVC student body and participating in campus life. Dr. Shelly Moorman-Stahlman, professor of music and director of the LVC organ guild and handbell choir, began the program after spending time in Brazil during her sabbatical in 2015, where she connected with several colleges that now participate in the program.
The professors at these colleges recommend students for the program, and those students fill out applications detailing what they hope to get out of the experience and how they will apply the knowledge they gain at LVC back home in Brazil.
Most of the exchange students are studying to be music educators or church musicians. Most students participating in the program come from São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and many of them are involved in social projects back home, teaching music to Brazilian children who may not have the financial means otherwise.
The students spend their time at LVC participating in a number of classes, as well as giving presentations to LVC students on topics such as culture, music and even Brazilian healthcare, and performing a recital for the campus community.
Brazilian students work with the LVC choirs and the handbell choir during their time here.
“The students spend the majority of their time at LVC but they also have the opportunity to explore cultural highlights of our region,” Moorman-Stahlman explained. “This year they attended Choral Evensong at Washington National Cathedral in DC and visited tourist sites in Hershey and Lancaster.”
The Brazilian exchange students and LVC students often form lasting friendships. Many music majors and professors remain in touch with students who participate in the program, and continue to teach each other and grow together as musicians and people even after their time together on campus.
The recital presented by the Brazilian Cultural Exchange program students was presented on Thursday, Feb. 2, at 7:30 p.m. in Miller Chapel.