I am Heshima Moja, an artist inhabiting the crossroads of creativity, cultural heritage, and visionary imagination.
I am Heshima Moja, an artist inhabiting the crossroads of creativity, cultural heritage, and visionary imagination. My work runs deep in the soulful core of music and the global tapestry of cultures, inviting audiences to feel art as a catalyst for introspection, healing, and social reflection.
I balance tradition and innovation, turning past and future into a dialogue. I compose for Nickelodeon, PBS, and independent film, and I have released rounds Round and Round (2011), The Awakening (2017), and The Healing Suite (2024). I’ve shared stages with artists such as Patti Labelle, Quest Love, Arturo O’Farrill, and many others, continually exploring new textures and interdisciplinary forms while championing education and cultural preservation. I am also a voting member with NARA (The Grammys)
also a part of my song cycle The Healing Suite, Quitame la tristeza (Take this pain away) is an exploration of the intersections of jazz, bolero, the music of Andalusia, and electronica. It is the story of a person searching for belonging and place. I wrote this song in Spanish to emphasize my lived experience of constant searching for place, home, country, identity.
This piece was composed overlooking the skyline at sunrise in Paris after finishing a concert at New Morning. Using the sparsity of the trio format allowed each of us on the recording to breathe and stretch time.
7 Chakras is a multi-layered composition utilizing electronics (synths), and 4 separate electric bass tracks with effects. It is a part of my song cycle The Healing Suite(release in 2024).
This piece is from a larger dance work. This is movement II and is an homage to the women of Harlem specifically, and black women in general. I also write the poetry that is being recited by Darryl Moss.
This piece is the first movement of a work in progress titled: 1955/Now: From Emmett Till to Black Lives Matter. It is the beginning of the piece that paints the picture of 14 year old Emmett Till’s last day playing with his cousins in Mississippi before he is brutally murdered by white supremacists in 1955. This is considered the official beginning of the Civil Rights Movement.
This piece is one of 18 pieces in my Afro-Indigenous Song Cycle. I composed and arranged the piece. Lyrics are by Violeta Cruz Del Valle. They are written and performed in English, Spanish, and Arawak and include elements of South-East Asian Music(Tabla), Indigenous Puerto Rican elements, and African American Soul Music creating a statement of inter-connectivity of cultural elements as a result of slavery, colonization, and migration.
This work is a commission piece for Euphonium soli. The person who commissioned me gave me permission to use whatever instrumentation that I wanted. I opted to orchestrate around the soli with chamber string quintet, piano, and percussion. It is a 22 minute through composed piece
Curated national and regional musical performers for the 2023 Puerto Rican Parade. Acted as liaison with artist management and parade board to negotiate contracts. Coordinated sound design and contracted audio services for parade floats and stages.
Curated national and regional musical performers for the 2023 parade; liaised between artists and parade directors; negotiated contracts and coordinated sound design for floats and stages.
Curated national and regional musical performers for the 2023 Puerto Rican Parade. Acted as liaison between artists and parade board, including contract negotiation and sound coordination for floats and stages.
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