The Choir of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa wishes the whole community a Holy Christmas, with an original song created to mark this date.

"Sleeping Child" is inspired by a poem by Pedro Homem de Melo and is a play whose simplicity takes us to the first night of Christmas, to the environment of the popular imagination in which the crib is revealed in all its humanism and spirituality.

"Sleeping Boy, deep silence

Blessed, blessed, savior of the world.

Night, cold night 

but how beautiful it is

On one side Mary, on the other Joseph.

An angel unveils the tip of the veil

And the image of heaven falls to the earth".

- Pedro Homem de Melo

See the video here.

On November 4 and 12, the next auditions for admission to the Choir of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa will take place.

The auditions will take place at two different times - 12.30 p.m. or 6 p.m. - in the Cardeal Medeiros Auditorium (João Paulo II University Library Building, 1st Floor).

The choir is conducted by Maestro Sérgio Peixoto and has rehearsals every Thursday, between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., at the Cardeal Medeiros Auditorium.

Register here to take part in the auditions.

Registration for the next auditions for admission to the Choir of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa is now open.

On April 22, participate in the Choir's auditions, which will take place at two different times - 12:30 p.m. or 6 p.m. - at the Cardeal Medeiros Auditorium.

The UCP choir is led by Maestro Sérgio Peixoto and has rehearsals every Thursday, between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., at the Cardeal Medeiros Auditorium.

Register here to take part in the auditions.

Sérgio Peixoto's passion for music began at the age of five. From the Music Academy, he went to the Gregorian Institute of Lisbon. He then graduated in Musical Sciences at the Universidade Nova, followed by a degree in Composition at the Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa.

Alongside his musical training, he was part of the Gulbenkian Choir and founded the ancient music ensemble Sete Lágrimas, among many other projects. In 2008, he became conductor of the Choir of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa.

Of these 15 years, he fondly recalls two performances in particular: Fauré's Requiem and a programme of Broadway musicals. "The choir has this particularity of performing all kinds of repertoire, from classical music to the Beatles," says Sérgio Peixoto. A variety of musical genres which is not only attributable to the choir members but also to the conductor himself. His greatest musical reference is Bach, "the ultimate reference for all musicians", he says, also revealing an admiration for the British rock band Queen.

But it is not only musical eclecticism that is part of his history as conductor of the UCP Choir. It was here, in the choir of Universidade Católica Portuguesa, that the Mãos que Cantam Project was born, a choir of deaf people that will now perform at World Youth Day in Lisbon.

It all started about 12 years ago when the Institute of Health Sciences opened a degree in Portuguese Sign Language. "Professors Alexandre Castro Caldas, Joana Castelo Branco and Ana Mineiro were part of the choir, they came to me and said: why not integrate these students into university life and the academic community, in a different way, through music?".

The idea had been launched. For Sérgio Peixoto, who "had no deaf family or friends, nor did he know anything about the deaf community" it was a challenge. But from the very first rehearsal, he understood the importance of embracing this project.

When he arrived at the rehearsal, there were six deaf students in the room. However, the sign language interpreter was late. "At the time, I didn't know sign language, and the only thing I could say was 'hello' with my hand. I couldn't communicate any further. Feeling this sudden shock made me realise that this was really what I wanted to do," he explains.

With the main goal of developing Portuguese Sign Language from an artistic and aesthetic point of view, the Mãos que Cantam Project was born. "There was nothing like this in Europe, so we started from scratch, building a grammatical lexicon of choral direction gestures for the deaf", he says.

Today, 12 years later, the choir has performed with the Gulbenkian orchestra, Jorge Palma, Cuca Roseta and even Xutos e Pontapés. The intention of these large-scale performances is to " raise awareness among the audience of these musicians that it is possible to make music with deaf people".

Now comes an opportunity to share this message with an audience of hundreds of thousands of young people from around the world. "For the first time in the history of World Youth Day, a deaf choir will interpret the ceremonies", joining the choir of 200 young people and the orchestra of 100 people, explains Sérgio Peixoto, hoping "that this idea of inclusion will be followed in the next World Youth Days in other countries".

The main goal of the choir and the conductor "is for everyone to look at deaf people as normal", so they want to " bring awareness to this artistic idea that it is possible to make music with deaf people, but also to prove that there are no barriers".

"If we are all willing to communicate, to understand our neighbour, to accept our differences, that can be a reason to bring us all closer together," he says.

The choir of the Portuguese Catholic University is looking for new voices and will have open auditions on February 13, 2020 at 6:30pm in the Cardinal Medeiros Auditorium. The auditions are available to the whole UCP community namely to students, collaborators, teachers and researchers. Conducting the choir is Maestro Sérgio Peixoto and weekly rehearsals will be available every Thursday from 7pm to 9pm in the Cardinal Medeiros Auditorium.

To participate in the auditions you will have to register in advance:

Register here

For more information call 21 721 40 50
or visit the Facebook page.

The Church of Santa Isabel in Lisbon hosted a Christmas concert by the Choir of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa.

With a vast and diverse repertoire and a conductor who was infectious with enthusiasm, this magnificent concert, on the third Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of Joy, allowed us all to better prepare for Christmas. With a harmony that speaks of peace,' said Fr José Manuel Pereira de Almeida, Vice-Rector of the Universidade Católica and parish priest of the Church of Santa Isabel.

The event, which took place on 15 December, was directed by conductor Sérgio Peixoto and accompanied on the piano by Pedro Ramos.

The repertoire included songs such as ‘All things bright and beautiful’, ‘Dorme, dorme meu menino’, ´Só aos anjos a lua sorri´, ‘A Cradle in Bethlehem’,‘Spanish Carol’, among many others.

The concert highlighted the talent and dedication of all the members of the Universidade Católica Choir.