Orfeon Académico de Coimbra (O.A.C.) is the oldest and one of the most famous academic

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

s in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. It was established in 1880 by the then

University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; pt, Universidade de Coimbra, ) is a Public university, public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coi ...

's law student João Arroio, with the name ''Sociedade Choral do Orpheon Académico''. It is one of the eight autonomous organizations of the ''

Associação Académica de Coimbra The Associação Académica de Coimbra (AAC) is the students' union of the University of Coimbra (UC). Founded in Coimbra on November 3, 1887, it is the oldest students' union in Portugal. It is also the biggest Portuguese students' union belongi ...

''. Traditionally, most members have been students of the

although there is no requirement of studying at the university to be able to join the choir. However, OAC still represents

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of . The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto Metropolitan Area, Porto, and Bra ...

Praxe The Portuguese term praxe ( from the Greek πρᾶξις, ''praxis'') describes the whole of student traditions in universities or, more often, to the initiation rituals freshmen are subjected to in some Portuguese universities. Praxe is re ...

and traditions. It is an internationally famous choir, and represents an important role in Portugal's musical evolution, including one of the most important schools of '' Fado de Coimbra'', a unique type of Portuguese ''

fado Fado (; "destiny, fate") is a music genre that can be traced to the 1820s in Lisbon, Portugal, but probably has much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar Rui Vieira Nery states that "the only reliable information on the history of fado was ...

''. The choir has recorded music for radio and LP,Schwann record & tape guide - 1966 Page 161 Bartholomew: Shenandoah (Heath. Yale University Glee Club); Kenins:Bon homme (Barnes, University of Toronto Chorus); Portuguese Folk Dance: Vira (Raposo Marques, Orfeón Académico de Coimbra) ortugal/ref> released a CD ''Orfeon Académico de Coimbra "cantando espalharei por toda a parte..."'' (the title is quote from

Luís Vaz de Camões Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish language, Spanish form of the originally Germanic language, Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese language, Portuguese and ...

References

External links

Orfeon Académico de Coimbra official websiteOs 130 anos do Orfeon Académico de Coimbra
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orfeon Academico de Coimbra Coimbra Academic Association Portuguese choirs Fado Musical groups established in 1880 1880 establishments in Portugal

See also

References

External links