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About Stephen

stephenStephen Dodgson was born in London in 1924 and lived there with few interruptions all his life. He was educated at Stowe and served in the Royal Navy during World War II. He received his musical training at the Royal College of Music, and was subsequently for many years a member of its teaching staff in theory and composition. He started working at the College in the Junior Department where he also conducted the orchestra, for which he wrote several pieces. In 1950 he was in Italy with a travelling scholarship.

From 1957 he was often employed by the BBC; as provider of incidental music for many major drama productions, as well as a frequent and familiar broadcaster of reviews and other musical topics.

stephen_dodgson_composing
His compositions cover almost every genre, including opera (Margaret Catchpole, 1979), seven piano sonatas, nine string quartets and much other chamber music. There is also a substantial body of music for symphony orchestra & many concertos with chamber orchestra. His large output of vocal music ranges from a Magnificat & a Te Deum for chorus, soloists & orchestra through music for unaccompanied choir to songs for one or two singers with instrumental accompaniment. For many years Chairman of The National Youth Wind Orchestra he wrote music for this and other wind orchestras. For the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble he wrote and arranged music for various combinations of brass instruments. He is, however, probably best known worldwide for his numerous works for guitar. His interest in this instrument was prompted by Julian Bream.

Much of this music has now been recorded, including six orchestral Essays, all the String Quartets, a String Sextet, Quintets for Clarinet, Flute & Guitar, all the Piano Sonatas, Bagatelles & Piano Trios, other chamber & vocal music & most of the guitar music.

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Latest news

Sungbin Cho playing
Sungbin Cho wins RAM prize with Dodgson Guitar Concerto No. 1
Jul 04, 2022
Dodgson Tournament for Twenty_Fingers recording
New release – 'Tournament for Twenty Fingers' piano duets
Jul 03, 2022
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Duo Guitartes – Promenade 1 live video
Apr 13, 2022
Osman Tack – concert video
Apr 09, 2022
Cadilly recording feature image
Cadilly musings – performance and recording
Jul 01, 2021

Upcoming events

Aug
17
Wed
2022
7:00 pm Marian Consort – ‘Music for the ... @ North Norfolk Music Festival
Marian Consort – ‘Music for the ... @ North Norfolk Music Festival
Aug 17 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Marian Consort - 'Music for the Queen of Heaven' @ North Norfolk Music Festival
Rory McLeery’s vocal ensemble performs a rich and varied programme of renaissance and contemporary works to reflect on Mary, who has been celebrated and venerated in Catholic motets and antiphons since the Middle Ages at the North Norfolk Music Festival. The highly distinguished vocal ensemble presents a programme of music by Ludford, Tallis, Parsons, Byrd, Britten, Panufnik, Dodgson, Weir and McDowall. Works range from the simple lullaby Dormi Jesu by Stephen Dodgson, miraculous cascades of sound by Tallis, Britten’s Hymn to the Virgin, Roxana Panufnik’s complex and emotional Magnificat and Judith Weir’s ebullient Ave Regina Caelorum. Pre-pandemic, the group both recorded[...]
Oct
2
Sun
2022
2:30 pm Evva Mizerska and Jiva Housden –...
Evva Mizerska and Jiva Housden –...
Oct 2 @ 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm
Evva Mizerska and Jiva Housden – Duo for Cello and Guitar
Cellist Evva Mizerska and guitarist Jiva Housden perform an afternoon recital at the Harwich Festival featuring Stephen Dodgson’s Duo for Cello and Guitar alongside works by Boccherini, de Falla and Burgmüller.
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