Second Concert

Bom Dia
Well, we had the final concert of the Orquestra Sopros de Pindoretama last night at the Drago Mar Cultural Center in downtown Fortaleza. I would say there were probably 150-200 people in the audience, so a pretty nice crowd. The band actually performed even better than they did the night before, but it wasn't as intense as the crowd wasn't as large and they were not in their own community. It was much more relaxed. they did a very nice job on the whole program.

After the concert, many many more pictures!!! Wow, it was like the paparazzi!! Then it was time to say good bye to the students-very difficult. Arley brought them all together and he said some very nice things about our friendship and the work I had done with his students. Then, I spoke a bit about my appreciation for them and the new friends I now have in Brazil. He then opened the floor to any students who wanted to say anything and it was really quite touching. They really said some nice things to me about how I have changed their lives and how much they appreciated what I have taught them.

Then one of the trumpet players said, "Even though we do not speak each other's language, it was wonderful to share this time together to speak the same language of music." Very thoughtful and profound. We had a great big group hug and then we had to say good bye. It was very sad, but I am confident I will see some of them again in the future.

After that, we went out for food and cerveja. What's new!!! Got to the hotel around 1030 and got a good night's sleep.