2nd Macau International Choir Festival

UILDING ON THE SUCCESS of last year’s choir festival, the Second Macau International Choir Festival will be held from December 6 to December 10. This year, the Diocese of Macau and the cathedral parish will join as the co-organizers of the festival. The Catholic Church has always been the greatest patron of music; Macau, as the first Catholic diocese in the Far East, is going to take part in the promotion of sacred music.

This year, participants would have the opportunity to sing for the diocesan Mass on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, the patron of the Diocese of Macau, at the historic Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady. Participating choirs will also have the chance to perform in other historical sites including: the Church of St. Lawrence (the first parish in Macau, over 400 years old), the Church of St. Dominic (built by Dominicans 400 years ago, former motherhouse of the missionary friars in the Far East) and the Ruins of St. Paul (landmark of Macau and the ruins of the first theological institute in the Far East, founded by the Jesuits in 1583).

The Macau International Choir Festival is a non-competitive festival. The festival is a unique endeavor in an international choral scene that will combine different artistic innovation, professional performance development and intercultural collaborations of different choirs from the world in the magic of the island of Macau.

For more information and registration, please contact Barrie Briones at cantatamacau@outlook.com. The deadline for registration is August 20, 2017.

ERSONALLY, I found hosting guest choirs for choral liturgies a very efficient way to promote sacred music. We are very blessed to be an international city and be able to have visiting choirs from around the world. Holding concerts and choral services really help increasing the faithful’s appreciation for the music of the Church. Since my arrival at the Macau Cathedral last September, we have had three different choirs visited us already and we are looking forward to the others from Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and the UK in the coming year.

And for your interest, here are two videos of our previous guest choirs’ programs, back in December, at the Macau Cathedral. (We were visited recently by the Schola Cantorum of the Oratory School too and were blessed to be able to hear them during the Choral Mass, but the video has not yet been uploaded.) Enjoy!

Lessons and Carols Service by St. John’s Voices of the University of Cambridge

Lessons and Carols Service by the Choir of Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge