Coralia, concert choir of the University of Puerto Rico, was praised in Spain as “A choir of mesmerizing voices”. It is undoubtedly a prestigious ensemble that takes part of the long-standing choral tradition at the Rio Piedras Campus, which dates to 1936. Founded in 1982 by its current conductor, Carmen Acevedo Lucío, Coralia is comprised of students and alumni who have vast choral experience and a solid musical background. Initially, the concert choir was created as a workshop that would provide a space for maximizing the musical and performing skills of its members, focusing on putting together highly challenging choral repertoire. Their repertoire consists of music from all historical periods as well as traditional American, Caribbean and Puerto Rican folklore.

 

On a professional scale, Coralia has collaborated on numerous occasions with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, in opera galas for CulturArte de Puerto Rico, and at the Casals Festival, under the baton of renowned local and international figures such as Margaret Hillis, Krzysztof Penderecki, Helmuth Rilling, Yoav Talmi, Guillermo Figueroa, Gustavo Dudamel, and Maximiano Valdés. 

 

Coralia has represented Puerto Rico in a wide variety of festivals and choral competitions with innovative programs in Europe, South America, Canada, Mexico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, and the United States of America.  They have been honored with thirteen first places in polyphonic and sacred music categories, prizes for best interpretation of folklore repertoire, polyphonic renaissance music, and in two occasions, received the “Best Choir” award out of all the participating choirs in an international competition. In 2014, Coralia took part in the International Chamber Choir Competition in Marktoberdorf, Germany and the Florilège Vocal de Tours, France. In Tours, Coralia was proclaimed the winner and was selected to participate in the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing 2014 in Debrecen, Hungary. In this manner, Coralia became the first Puerto Rican choral ensemble to take part in one of the world’s most important choral competitions.  This distinction brought about an invitation to participate in the Festival des Choeur Lauréats 2016 in the South of France. 

 

In 2017, Coralia returned to South America to take part in the VI International Choral Festival of Sacred Music in Piedecuesta, Colombia and later that year participated in the 65th edition of the International Choral Competition Guido d’Arezzo where they won 3rd Prize in the Secular Music Category.  Their most recent tours prior to the pandemic took them to South America where they sang in two festivals in Ecuador:  41st International Choral Festival “El Canto Coral Hermana a los Pueblos” in Guayaquil and 6th International Festival ‘Voces desde la Mitad del Mundo” in Quito.

 

In May 2022, Coralia performed a solo program in the prestigious Casals Festival of Puerto Rico.  Coralia’s mission is to safeguard the Puerto Rican choral music tradition, and to offer its members and its audience an extraordinary, unique choral experience.