The first Chinese classical guitarist to launch an international career, Xuefei Yang was so accomplished as a teen that John Williams gave two of his own Smallman guitars to the Beijing Conservatory so she would have excellent instruments to play. Now in her 30s and a ravishing interpreter of traditional guitar repertoire, she has also made brilliant arrangements of Chinese music and has collaborated with many contemporary composers to create works on Chinese themes.
Scott Cmiel is Chair of the guitar and musicianship departments at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Preparatory Division and Director of the guitar program at San Francisco School of the Arts.
Jeff Kaliss has written about opera and other classical forms for the Marin Independent-Journal and The Oakland Tribune. He is based in San Francisco, and also covers jazz, world music, country, rock, film, theater, and other entertainment. The second edition of his authorized biography of Sly & the Family Stone was published by Backbeat Books.