Midshipmen from the Women’s Glee Club perform in Brazil during spring break. Photo by Todd Bauchspies.

This year, the organization traveled to South America, visiting the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia, Brazil.

‘‘We were down there to perform, but also as official visitors engaging with the Brazilian navy,” said Midshipman 1st Class Janell Peske, one of the co-presidents of the Women’s Glee Club.

Brazilian naval officers escorted the group throughout the trip as they performed at a variety of historical and military locations, including the Naval Club, Copacabana, and the Candelaria Cathedral in Rio.

The group performed a range of music, from sacred songs to Broadway show tunes and patriotic music. They also performed the Brazilian national anthem in Portuguese and a number of traditional Brazilian cultural pieces.

Additonally, Midshipman 1st Class Veronica Ramos worked with one of the Brazilian exchange officers at the academy prior to the trip to learn enough Portuguese to be able to introduce the group.

‘‘I think that was a really positive thing in terms of engagement with the audience,” said Peske. ‘‘It was definitely well received across the board, wherever we went.”

Audiences turned out in mass numbers for these performances. According to Peske, one venue held 1,000 people and was filled, leaving standing room only.

‘‘We worked really hard and our director pushes us to put out a good musical product,” said Peske. ‘‘I think the music is what touches people and also where we’re coming from in terms of being Naval Academy midshipmen who will be serving in the Navy. Being able to present that as women is a different kind of diplomatic touch.

‘‘We took away a different kind of international navy exchange experience. The officers that we worked with, the midshpmen that we got to meet, most of them had never spent a lot of time with American military future naval offier before and I think that for us, it brought us to a new level of professional musicianship.”