Recently students across the South Plains got to experience a little bit of Brazil, including students right here at FISD. A group of students from the Lutheran School Sao Marcos have spent nearly a week traveling around the area learning all about marching bands here in Texas.
The planning process for their trip began back in 2014 when Mr. Keith Bearden, Professor Emeritus at Texas Tech University, met Mr. Andre Oliveira, director of the Lutheran campus, in Brazil for the World Association of Marching Show Bands competition. Oliverira was eager to learn more about the teaching and marching styles of Texas bands.
After Mr. Oliveira visited Texas in late 2014, he just knew he wanted his students to have the same opportunity to see how prominent band is throughout the education system at both the public and University levels. After a year of planning the students of Brazil arrived on September 13, 2015 in Lubbock. Their trip has included visits to campuses such as Frenship Middle School and Frenship High School, Lubbock High and Texas Tech University’s School of Music just to name a few.
On Wednesday the students observed Mrs. June Bearden’s FMS band classes from the beginners to the advanced level, heard the FISD school song and fight song, learned to play Iron Man and Smoke on the Water with the students and then they performed for the students of the FMS Band program.
The cultural experience was one of a kind for both the students and educators, but Mr. Bearden summed up the experience best by reiterating no matter the language barriers between English and Portuguese music is truly the universal language.
