All these groups offered a programme with seven performances, which started on the 3rd in Benigànim with the Orfeó Universitari de València, led by Francesc Valldecabres. The Orfeó's programme continued last Sunday 19th in the Santos Juanes Church (Market Square, València), with the most classic concert of the Valencian Christmas, ‘El món canta davant un bressol’, one of the most long-established recitals in the musical scene of the city of Valencia, with more than 60 editions and a single topic: the celebration of Christmas with an always surprising repertoire that includes Valencian compositions and from all over the world.

Choir School and Choral Club
As tradition dictates, these two university musical groups, led by Mònica Perales i Massana, and with Eduard Marquina on the piano, also took part in the Christmas Concerts.

The Choir School La Nau of the Universitat de València gave its Christmas performance on Monday 20th, at the Joan Plaça Concert Hall of the Botanical Garden. The choirs Mestral, Garbí and Tramuntana sang popular Valencian carols with arrangements by Maria Martorell, Josep Crivillé and María Teresa Jiménez. The programme ended with the shared song ‘Cambiar el mundo’ by Jim Papoulis, bringing all coral groups on stage.

On the other hand, the Choral Club La Nau Gran of the Universitat de València performed on Thursday 23rd, at the Cloister of La Nau, with a traditional repertoire, but no less varied, of carols such as ‘Dindirindín’, ‘La Nit de Nadal’ or ‘A tots unes bones festes’, apart from original versions like John Lennon's ‘Imagine’.

The Orchestra's Christmas Concert
As every year, the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Universitat de València participated in the Christmas season in two occasions: in Gandia and in the city of Valencia. Beatriz Fernández Aucejo conducted for the fourth year this festive event, firstly with the public of Gandia and secondly with the Valencian.

Last Thursday 16th, the Serrano Theatre of Gandia hosted the carols performance and, in Valencia, the Orchestra's concert closed the musical programme of the season on the 23rd December at the Charles Darwin Hall of the Burjassot-Paterna Campus. It had two parts: the first one, with the ‘Concert Valencià’ by Andrés Valero Castells (1973) for clarinet and orchestra, which included the movements ‘Cant mediterrani’, ‘Somni d’estiu’ and ‘Cròniques de la Pobla’, with the participation of the clarinettist Luis Fernández Castelló; and a second one with the performance of the piece ‘Vltava (The Moldau)’, by Bedrich Smetana (1824-1884).

The young clarinettist Luis Fernández Castelló is one of the most outstanding of his generation. He has developed an intense career as a soloist and a chamber musician, which has led him to important national and international festivals such as the Granada International Festival of Music and Dance, the Cuenca Religious Music Week, the Mediterranean Biennial of Contemporary Art or the Valencia Ensems Festival, among others.