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| Guitarist and composer Mark Mollica began
playing in his early teens, and within a year was writing
for and performing with bands in his native southwest Connecticut. While
enrolled at Skidmore College to pursue a non-fiction writing
degree, his musical interests focused on jazz and solo fingerstyle
guitar. There, he recorded a collection of solo guitar
pieces, followed by the ensemble album The Gravity of
Rivers. In 2003, he was awarded a graduate assistantship
and scholarship to the Thornton School of Music at USC in
Los Angeles to study with guitarist Joe Diorio and composer
and arranger Vince Mendoza. He received his Masters
degree in performance summa cum laude with the department
award for outstanding jazz guitar graduate of 2005, a Music
Honors Society Award, and a stipend for outstanding combined
musical and academic achievement. During this time,
he performed at LA's best jazz venues including the Jazz
Bakery, Catalina Bar and Grill, and Spazio, as well as in
outreach concerts with the Henry Mancini Institute. Soon
thereafter, he recorded the EP Next Time featuring
Fred Scerbo, Henry Lugo, and Vinnie Sperrazza. As
composer, his music has been featured in performance at Birdland,
and as station advertising for WPKN, as well as on NPR's Off
the Record. |
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