Opening The Doors

It's our last morning in São Paulo, and as we pack our cases for the long haul flight back to the UK, there's time for a moment of reflection on everything that's happened over the last week. As in any significant exchange with other humans, no-one leaves unchanged by the encounter.

A sincere and heartfelt thank you goes to all of the amazing staff at Guri Santa Marcelina who have helped, supported and inspired us along the way. To Giuliani Frozoni for her ongoing inspiration, passion and humour; to Nara and Hugo for their graceful and empowering leadership of the coral; to Larissa for producing our residency, and ensuring we were well looked after all the time; to Sergio for driving us everywhere and putting up with non-stop experimental vocal music in his taxi everyday without complaint; to Leandro and all the rest of the Guri team for being the most welcoming and committed professionals one could ever hope to work with; to Vos Moscada for their amazing singing; to all of the teachers who came to the workshop, and gave so generously of their time and spirit; and especially to all of the young people in Guri's Coral Juvenil, who have amazed and inspired us with their dedication, profesionalism and sheer joy of singing!

As a taster for what's to come, we've uploaded one of the songs from yesterday's concert at Céu Vila Curuçá, São Paulo. Opening The Doors is one of Katherine's pieces, which gives an insight into the world of the choir warm-up, as well as being a very real demonstration in five minutes of how singing together can turn a group of strangers into a group of friends.

The Mouthful Way is a road we make by walking it, and we're delighted to have been joined on our journey by so many good souls. In one of our dear friend Helen Chadwick's songs that we also perform in the concert, we sing the lines, 'we open doors, close doors, pass through doors.' We have opened many doors this week, and although some doors close, we are confident that there will always be new opportunities to work together in the future.