Timor-Leste University Choir Makes Debut at First Asia-Pacific Choral Symposium

A newly formed university choir from Timor-Leste is looking to learn from more established choral groups across the region as it takes part in the First Asia-Pacific Catholic University Choirs (APCU) Choral Symposium in Hong Kong.

Fr. Joel Casimiro Pinto, OFM, president of Universidade Católica Timorense and choir master of its student choir, said the group's participation in the symposium marks an important milestone after being established only less than three months ago.

"To be honest, we have just established this choir for two or three months," Fr. Pinto said. "We are very thankful for this invitation to participate in this symposium."

Hosted by Saint Francis University, the symposium gathers more than 100 singers, conductors, and music educators from Catholic universities in Hong Kong, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Timor-Leste under the theme "Harmony in Diversity."

For Fr. Pinto, the event is more than an opportunity to develop musical skills. He described it as a witness to the unity of Catholic universities across the Asia-Pacific region.

"It is a kind of testimony as a family in a Catholic university for Asia-Pacific," he said.

Despite being one of the newest participating choirs, Fr. Pinto expressed confidence that his students would benefit from interacting with more experienced groups.

Looking ahead, Fr. Pinto hopes the choir will continue serving the Church through liturgical music while also expanding its presence beyond the university.

Universidade Católica Timorense was founded on December 6, 2021, in the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Dili and is dedicated to St. John Paul II.

For the young Timorese choir, the gathering offers both inspiration and a glimpse of what it hopes to become in the years ahead.