Made up of former students of the University of Coimbra, the Coro dos Antigos Orfeonistas da Universidade de Coimbra was created with the aim of promoting and spreading a taste for musical/choral art, fostering philanthropic initiatives by collaborating with institutions of recognised humanist/social interest and reviving the ideals of fraternity, tolerance and solidarity that have marked the Coimbra Academy for generations in a somewhat peculiar way.

It performed for the first time in December 1980, on the occasion of the centenary celebrations of the Orfeon Académico de Coimbra – where the Choir found its institutional roots – and since then it has given several hundred concerts in Portugal and abroad, having toured numerous countries on practically every continent (Europe, the Americas – North and South – Africa and the Orient).

With a very eclectic repertoire that includes close to a hundred themes in multiple domains, but with a significant emphasis on Portuguese language music – it has devoted particular attention to the choral interpretation of the ‘Song of Coimbra’, specially adapted for choir. Over the years, the CAO has also organised numerous concerts and collaborations with renowned national and international artists.

Since 2003, it has been directed by Virgílio Caseiro.