Rafael Ferrari

Origin

Porto Alegre, RS

Genres

choro, instrumental music, gaucho music

Instruments

cavaquinho, mandolin, acoustic guitar

Biography

Rafael Ferrari is a renowned Brazilian composer, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, producer, and music teacher, born in Porto Alegre. Self-taught, he stood out in the instrumental scene playing cavaquinho, mandolin, and acoustic guitar, having begun his musical journey in the early 2000s. In 2002, he founded the group Camerata Brasileira, with which he played a fundamental role in the dissemination and renewal of choro and instrumental music in Southern Brazil. Alongside his former band, he recorded acclaimed albums such as Deixa Assim and Noves Fora, the latter of which won an Açorianos award.

Moving to São Paulo in 2014, the artist further expanded his musical borders with the release of the album Bandolim Campeiro, a work that brought traditional gaucho and South American rhythms—such as milonga, vanerão, and chacarera—to international stages, including the prestigious Festival Mandolines de Lunel in France. Throughout his career, Rafael Ferrari has had the opportunity to collaborate with major icons of Brazilian music, such as Hamilton de Holanda, Hermeto Paschoal, Toninho Horta, and Renato Borghetti, consolidating his name among the leading instrumentalists of his generation.

In addition to his intense activity on stages and in studios, Ferrari became notable starting in 2015 for his pioneering use of the internet for music education. He created the first online course and the first national gathering of mandolin players in Brazil, as well as releasing books and educational materials aimed at the learning and research of the instrument. His constant work in the aesthetic modernization of the mandolin and the democratization of music education has made him an unquestionable reference in contemporary instrumental music.

Discography

• Bandolim Campeiro (2014)