Joy in music and learning for Brazilian and U.S. students

Lebanon Valley College, a United Methodist-related school in Annville, Pa., supports a program for music students from Brazil that uplifts church and community.

June 9, 2025 | By Christie R. House

HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA – In the dark days of January, members of Grace United Methodist Church in Harrisburg, Pa., welcomed visiting music students from Brazil who seemed to bring the sunshine and a big burst of warmth with them all the way from South America.

“In these weeks after Christmas and New Year’s, when the days are still short and temperatures this year have plunged down into single digits, we are so delighted and fortunate to welcome these 10 music students from Brazil. Their music is extraordinary, and their enthusiasm gives our spirits a real lift,” Grace UMC’s pastor, the Rev. Anna Layman Knox, said.

The students spent three consecutive Sundays with Grace members during their cultural exchange program at Lebanon Valley College (LVC) in Annville. Dr. Shelly Moorman-Stahlman, professor of music and organist at the college, is the founder and faculty director of the annual Brazil program. She is also the director of music at Grace UMC.

“I had the idea for the exchange program during a piano and organ masterclass I was leading at Seminario Batista, the Baptist Seminary in Rio de Janeiro,” noted Dr. Moorman Stahlman. A few years before, she felt a calling from God to bring attention to a particular kind of organ in Brazil called the Cavaillé Coll. Aristede Cavaillé Coll was a famous organ builder and innovator in France in the late 1800s. He built “symphonic organs,” with pipes capable of mimicking the sounds of a whole orchestra. Even today, well-maintained Cavaillé Coll organs are considered some of the best in the world. A dozen or so were sent to Brazil, but as Moorman-Stahlman tracked a few down from church to church, she discovered the rare and beautiful instruments had not been maintained.

“The students at the workshop were intrigued by my stories of the pipe organs in the U.S. and I wanted them to have the opportunity to see and hear them first-hand. In addition, I was eager to offer an opportunity to my students at Lebanon Valley College to learn more about Brazilian music and culture. Our first exchange was in 2016. Since that time, LVC has hosted eight cultural exchanges and LVC students have traveled to Brazil three times.”

Connecting through music

Grace UMC has two to four LVC music students that sing with the choir every Sunday while school is in session. They gain experience performing, singing as a group (particularly a group that varies in age, skill sets and training) and gain more proficiency in sacred music, as some pursue a calling to serve in church vocations. A few may join Grace as members, and two have been baptized as adults at Grace. Others return home to their own congregations. Having more time at Grace to sing and learn from the Brazilian singers was welcomed by them.

“We are brought together to this space by God,” noted Becky Cherry, a freshman at LVC who sings alto in Grace’s choir. “It was just such an amazing thing to be able to feel and take part in. Watching them sing in a different language was amazing. Even though we don’t understand the words, we can understand the meaning just based on the inflection of their singing and their movements. We are all being touched by God somehow.”

Xavier Bates, a sophomore who sings baritone and assists Grace choir members with annunciating the words they sing, said: “They are so energetic, and they bring life into the room. In some ways, we are in a place where we don’t interact with that many cultures across the continents. It’s a special and blessed experience to be able to have them here and talk with them and connect through music.”

Likewise, the Brazilian students were making connections. Anderson da Silva has degrees from the University Federal in Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). At 25, he conducts the Coro da Rocinha, teaches in school and sings in the Teatro Municipal. “I felt embraced by your choir,” he said after he returned home. “As a conductor and singer, I had a wonderful time learning with the Grace and LVC choirs, singing and listening to the way you make music. I came back to Brazil with new ideas and a refreshing feeling that changed the way I experience choral music.”

Brazilian students taught the members of the Grace Church Choir several Brazilian anthems. At times, Grace has extended an opportunity for U.S. premieres of pieces composed by some of the students involved in the exchange.

Thamires Correia de Oliveira, another student graduating from UFRJ in music education, said: “The LVC students always made the effort to understand and help us. And we are grateful for that. We even got to write a song with them. That was pretty amazing.”

Learning

Lebanon Valley College was founded in 1866 by the Church of the Brethren. Through a series of mergers, several Brethren denominations are now part of The United Methodist Church. LVC’s Brethren legacy makes it part of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry’s network of United Methodist-related colleges and universities in the United States.

Dr. Moorman-Stahlman works with Claudia Feitosa as a partner in Brazil, whom she met on her first visit there. Feitosa works for Seminario Batiste and teaches at the UFRJ, so she has connections with many students. Moorman-Stahlman uses an application form that helps her discern students who want to learn but also want to take what they learn back to Brazil and teach others.

During their stay, the Brazilians live with Annville residents who volunteer to host them for their three-week stay. They are close to the school, where the Brazilian musicians and singers take part in the music program and classes at the college. Dr. Moorman-Stahlman teaches piano and organ and other professors work with them on voice and choir performance, and they join choral or instrumental ensembles. Moorman-Stahlman also teaches handbell techniques, a favorite of some of the students.

Various members of Grace UMC and other churches in the Harrisburg regions have been supplying handbells for current and former exchange students to use and to teach students in Brazil. A former student, Bruna Marinho, leads a group called “Handbells Brasil.” With an initial gift of a set of chimes from the Snyder family, Grace has now provided one three-octave set of bells, two two-octave sets, and three sets of hand chimes. Fabiany Justino, a current exchange student, plays with Handbells Brasil and treated gatherings at both Grace and LVC to her expert skill with the bells.

All the groups from Brazil go to see various churches and church organs. They also visit places like New York City, or this year, Washington, D.C.

“The LVC students really love the Brazilians, and they miss them when they leave because they have such a buoyant and exuberant nature to them,” Moorman-Stahlman noted. “When they leave, our hallways are quiet and calm. They are so full of enthusiasm for learning that the professors really miss them too. The Brazilians are so appreciative that they have this opportunity.”

The Grace congregation echoes that gratitude.

Christie R. House is a consultant writer and editor with Global Ministries, UMCOR and Higher Education and Ministry.