Sérgio Peixoto: "If we are willing to accept our differences, we can grow closer"

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.