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Guitarist and composer Stephen Dick leads Mojácar and writes and arranges the music for the group. Stephen studied flamenco guitar in Spain and composition and classical guitar in the U.S. An award-winning composer, Stephen works in a broad range of musical styles including Flamenco, Classical, Latin, and Jazz. |
Guitarist and composer Stephen Dick grew up in London where he began playing guitar at the age of ten. He passed quickly through his "junior Bob Dylan" phase before becoming enamored with jazz in high school. His love of jazz led him to the music of nylon string jazz guitarists like Laurindo Almeida and Charlie Byrd. The desire to imitate these masters led, in turn, to his studying classical guitar at night school.
This, in turn, led to his focusing on classical guitar in college. While still an undergraduate student at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, Stephen was hired as a staff guitar instructor when his teacher, Richard Hastings, left Portland for Los Angeles. (25 years later, Stephen and Richard met up again at a jazz club in Los Angeles. They now perform together when their schedules permit.)
Stephen earned his M.A. in Music Composition at San Francisco State University where he studied with Pulitzer prize-winning composer Wayne Peterson. While at San Francisco State, Stephen was awarded the Frampton Award for Contemporary Music for his work as a composer. Stephen also studied guitar and composition at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where he studied with another Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, William Thomas McKinley. He also studied composition at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge. While still a student at SFSU, Stephen organized BACA, the Bay Area Composer's Alliance, and produced concerts of new music from local composers. Later, Stephen formed Enthusiasms Of The Hand, a performance ensemble dedicated to presenting a wide variety of music for the guitar.
Stephen began his alliance with dancer/choreographer Katerina Tomás when he created music for a series of dances she choreographed in 1986. The two artists later collaborated on Canciones Nuevas y Añejas, a program of original works on Spanish themes including Romance Sonambulo.
Shortly after moving to Los Angeles in 1990, Stephen and Katerina formed L.A. Olé, a flamenco company focusing on traditional music and dance. L.A. Olé performed at numerous concerts and festivals around Southern California, including events at El Pueblo de Los Angeles, one of which honored a visit to El Pueblo by Prince Felipe of Spain.
Stephen studied flamenco guitar in Spain with Manolo Sanlúcar, Manolo Franco, José Antonio Rodriguez, Manuel Lozano "El Carbonero," Domingo Ortega and Paco Arroyo.
Mojácar was formed in 1997 and has performed in concerts across the United States. Stephen wrote all the music for Mojácar's debut CD, Naranjas Amargas. Stephen's compositions for the guitar have been published in Italy by Bérben. His arrangement of four of Bartok's Bagatelles for guitar duo was published in the United States by Columbia Music Company. He won the Paulo Barsacchi award for guitar composition for his Sonatina for Solo Guitar.
Stephen is a respcted expert on flamenco and classical guitar and has written over 100 articles on the guitar for Acoustic Guitar Magazine, Guitar Player, Fingerstyle Guitar, Classical Guitar, and Dance Magazine, as well as reviews for the San Francisco Chronicle and the Los Angeles Reader.
Stephen has taught guitar and composition for close to 30 years. He began teaching in high school. Later, he was hired as a staff guitar teacher at Reed College while still a student there. He went on to teach guitar and composition privately in the U.S. and Europe. He was staff guitarist at both San Francisco State and UCLA.
He currently teaches flamenco and classical guitar and composition at his home studio in South Pasadena, for more information go to the lessons page.
Flamenco
Fastango - A flamenco tango with jazz harmonies - on the CD Naranjas Amargas.
Naranjas Amargas - A high energy bulerías in the tono tarantos - on the CD Naranjas Amargas.
Felag Mengu - A flamenco tango with a Belidi rhtyhm from North Africa - on the CD Naranjas Amargas.
Rumba Salsero - A party rumba with a Latino accent - on the CD Naranjas Amargas.
Rumba La Fuerza - A rumba dedicated to Katerina Tomás, aka La Fuerza - on the CD Naranjas Amargas.
¡Ya Lo Tengo! - A tango with a jazz feel - on the CD Naranjas Amargas.
Tango-Montuno - A tango blended with the rhythm of a montuno to be part of the new CD currently being recorded, Cantan Los Fuegos.
Primavera - An alegrías in the style of José Luis Monton, part of the CDCantan Los Fuegos.
Pasos Iguales - A bulerías using whole tone scales and harmonies in the manner of Debussy, part of the CDCantan Los Fuegos.
Tango Pájarito - A fast fast tango in tribute to Charlie Parker, part of the CDCantan Los Fuegos.
Fandango de Los Ángeles - A fandango de Huelva with an American accent, part of the CDCantan Los Fuegos.
Classical
Romance Sonambulo - a setting for guitar and baritone of the poem Romance Sonambulo by Federico Garcia Lorca - featured in the 2004 concert Cantan Los Fuegos.
Four Bagatelles - An arrangement for two guitars of four pieces from Bela Bartok's Fourteen Bagatelles, published by Columbia Music Company.
Sonatina For Solo Guitar - A three movement sonatina for guitar, published by Bérben of Italy.
Sphere Variations - a duet for two guitarists using four guitars in which aleatoric processes are applied to two sets of 12 variations on Thelonious Monk's 'Round Midnight.
Jazz
Cantan Los Fuegos - A jazz arrangement of three movements from Manuel De Falla's El Amor Brujo, featured in the 2004 concert Cantan Los Fuegos.
Que Lindo - A ballad in tribute to the great Brazilian guitarist Laurindo Almeida - on the CD Naranjas Amargas.
Al Que Quiere - A piece in tribute to the another great Brazilian guitarist, Baden Powell - on the CD Naranjas Amargas.
Gracia Sencilla - A jazz samba on the CD Naranjas Amargas.
Tocatta - a piece for guitar and percussion that relies on slapping the strings of the guitar at certain points to generate percussive harmonics - on the CD Naranjas Amargas.
Stephen has earned a number of grants, honors and awards for his work as a guitarist and composer including:
• The Paulo Barsacchi award for guitar composition for Sonatina for Solo Guitar
• Finalist in the Sur Jerez flamenco competition in Jerez, Spain
• An award from the Spanish Ministry of Culture for study in Spain
• An award from the Spanish Ministrty of Culture for the production of Cantan Los Fuegos
• Two grants from the Fundacíon Valparaíso for artist residencies in Mojácar, Spain
• The Frampton award for Excellence in Contemporary Music
• A Meet The Composer Grant for Canciones Nuevas Y Añejas
• A Haas fund grant for Enthusiasms of the Hand
• A Northern California Grantmakers grant for Canciones Nuevas Y Añejas
• A Zellerbach Family Fund Grant for Canciones Nuevas Y Añejas
Stephen has written dozens of articles on the guitar, its music and its players for a wide variety of publications including The San Francisco Chronicle, The Los Angeles Reader, Classical Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Fingerstyle Guitar, Guitar Player, and Electronic Musician.
The following articles have been included on this website with the permission of the publisher:
• Buying a Nylon String Guitar