Dean Hamill – Composer/Arranger
Dean Hamill’s formal music studies started at the age of nine with piano. Eventually, he became enamored with classical guitar resulting in his attending three years of Christopher Parkening master classes and graduating with a Bachelor of Music degree in Classical Guitar Performance from University of Southern California (USC). Other disciplines studied there included composition and orchestration. After graduation, he continued classical guitar studies taking private lessons from Pepe Romero.
While on the faculty at USC and several community colleges in southern California, the USC Guitar Department Chair, Duke Miller, recommended that he write new course materials for the guitar classes. The result was Adult Group Guitar One and Adult Group Guitar Two. Eventually, Dean adapted these courses into one of the first and most popular video guitar instructional courses commercially available to the public. Guitar Now! with Dean Hamill volumes one and two enjoyed combined nationwide sales of over 100,000 copies.
While working toward his masters degree in music from California State University at Long Beach, Dean studied choral arranging with nationally renowned Professor Frank Pooler. This experience brought to him a whole new excitement and he started devoting more energy to composition and arranging. During this period he composed, arranged music and directed the nationally recognized Grand Land Singers.
He has served in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in many callings including Stake high councilor, Stake music chairman and choir director, Stake mission president, ward choir director and among others. While residing in the Cypress California Stake, Dean was called upon to both write and direct musical programs for youth and adult conferences. Dean’s cantata, What Think Ye of Christ, has been performed in stakes in both Southern California and Oregon as well as a featured work at the Los Angeles Temple Visitors Center during two Christmas seasons. One of his most memorable occasions was when he was called upon to direct a 300 plus voice choir for a regional conference in Anaheim, California.
Dean loves setting scripture based texts to music that might help lift and encourage people to grow in faith and testimony of our Savior.
