Stephen Paul (born }) is an American classical guitarist best known by the

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Esteban. He is from the

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

area and has lived in

Tempe, Arizona Tempe ( ; ''Oidbaḍ'' in O'odham language, O'odham) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2020 population of 180,587. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in t ...

since 1976. He has sold instructional DVDs and guitars on home-shopping channels

QVC QVC (short for "Quality Value Convenience") is an American free-to-air television network and a flagship shopping channel specializing in televised Shopping channel, home shopping, owned by QVC Group (formerly Qurate Retail Group). Founded in 19 ...

and the HSN.

Biography

Paul was the oldest of four children. He began playing guitar at the age of eight when his uncle brought him a nylon-stringed guitar. He attended South Hills Catholic High School (since absorbed into Seton-La Salle Catholic High School) in Mt. Lebanon.South Hills Catholic reunion with Esteban
Al Lowe, ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', February 8, 2007; accessed June 15, 2007. He then attended

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

, where he double-majored in music and English. At this time, he was teaching approximately 150 students a week and playing in nightclubs.

Segovia

Esteban then wished to study with Andrés Segovia. Esteban claims, after a long period where he pursued Segovia by sending notes to the hotels where he was staying, he finally met Segovia in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 1972 and studied with him intermittently for the next five years, splitting his time between

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. The extent of the connection between Segovia and Esteban, however, is heavily disputed. Although Esteban did meet Segovia, Esteban is not mentioned in any biography of Segovia, and Esteban never received the public acknowledgment Segovia gave students such as

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

and Eliot Fisk. Segovia autographed one of his books for Esteban in 1978 with a flattering message, but Segovia is known to have signed hundreds or thousands of such messages.

Album release

Esteban had been playing at a Hyatt Regency hotel when he released his first album in 1991. In 1999, Esteban came to the attention of Joy Mangano at Ingenious Designs, inventor of several products sold on the

home-shopping channel. She invited Esteban to play on QVC in November 1999. Esteban sold 132,000 CDs after two appearances on HSN in the summer of 2000, and two of his albums reached the top 54 entries in the ''Billboard'' 200. Esteban quit playing at the Hyatt in 2000. From 2001 to 2003, Esteban released over a dozen additional albums, four of which placed in the lower half of the Billboard 200. Esteban—Charts & Awards

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, accessed on line November 9, 2007. He has appeared in several infomercials advertising his guitars and instructional DVDs. Esteban entry at

; accessed June 15, 2007.

Discography

* ''Duende'' (1991) * ''Songs From My Heart'' (1992) * ''Spirits of the West'' (1993) * ''What Child Is This?'' (1994) * ''Flamenco Y Rosas'' (1995) 2-CD set * ''Pasión'' (1997) * ''Enter the Heart'' (1998) * ''Heart of Gold'' (1999) * ''All My Love'' (2000) * ''At Home With Esteban'' (2000) 2-CD set * ''Esteban Live!'' (2001) 2-CD set * ''Flame, Flamenco & Romance, Vol. 1'' (2001) 2-CD set * ''Esteban By Request'' (2001) 4-CD set * ''Holiday Trilogy'' (2001) 3-CD set includes ''A Classic Christmas'', ''A Traditional Christmas'', and ''A 21st Century Christmas'' * ''Joy To The World'' (2001) * ''Happy Holidays, With Love'' (2002) 2-CD set * ''Flame, Flamenco & Romance, Vol. 2'' (2002) 2-CD set * ''Walk Beside Me: The Greatest Inspirational Songs Of All Time'' (2002) 2-CD set * ''Eternal Love'' (2002) 2-CD set * ''Celebrate the Memories'' (2002) * ''Back 2 Back'' (2003) 2-CD set * ''Magic Moments'' (2003) * ''Live in Sedona'' (2003) 2-CD set * ''Happy Holidays, With Love (Esteban's Favorite Holiday Treasures)'' (2003) * ''Favorite Holiday Memories'' (2003) * ''Classic Holiday Memories'' (2003) * ''Father/Daughter'' (2004) 2-CD set * ''The New Flamenco Y Rosas'' (2006) * ''Best of Esteban'' (2006) * ''Wear the Black (A Tribute to Johnny Cash)'' (2011) 2-CD set

References

External links

Official website
* Esteban entry at