MOISÉS RAFAEL
Born in Ganda, Angola, in 1980. After philosophical-theological studies for priestly formation in Benguela, he went to Rome (Italy) in 2005 where he graduated in Choir Conducting and Composition in 2014. The desire to know more led him to Lisbon, where he pursued a PhD in Musicology at FCSH NOVA, with an thesis in the field of ethnomusicology, focused on an ethnography of body language in the Catholic mass in Kawanga (Benguela-Angola). His main research interest focuses on the analysis of the corporal expression of the various participants in the Catholic Mass in Kawanga (Benguela), with the main objective of deepening the ethnomusicological understanding of the cultural and liturgical context as a performative space. In parallel to his academic activity, he directs a music school in Angola called Casa da Musica de Benguela, which he founded in 2018 with the support of SITCM/CEI (CEI – Italy). As a collaborator of the project “Música para Todos”, he is also engaged in the discovery and promotion of musical talents living on the outskirts of Benguela through organizing Gospel and Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) song contests.
