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Xuefei Yang is acclaimed as one of the world’s finest classical guitarists. She is hailed as a musical pioneer - with a fascinating story of rising from the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution as the first-ever guitarist in China to enter a music school, to becoming an internationally acclaimed professional musician on the world stage.
Her first public appearance was at the age of ten and received such acclaim that the Spanish Ambassador in China presented her with a concert guitar. Her debut in Madrid at the age of 14 was attended by the composer Joaquín Rodrigo and, when John Williams heard her play, he gave two of his own instruments to Beijing’s Central Conservatoire especially for her and other advanced students.
Her international success has led her to be invited to play in more than 50 countries at numerous prestigious venues such as Wigmore Hall, all Southbank venues, and Royal Albert Hall in London, as well as the Philharmonie Berlin, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Konzerthaus Vienna, Auditorio Nacional de Espana, Barcelona Auditorium, Carnegie Hall & Lincoln Center New York. In Asia she has appeared at the National Concert Hall Taipei, Hong Kong City Hall & Cultural Center, Esplanade Singapore, Seoul Arts Centre and gave the first guitar recital and concerto in the Beijing National Center of Performing Arts. Xuefei has also been invited to perform at major music festivals such as BBC Proms, Edinburgh International Festival, Klara International Festival, Korea’s Black Mountain Festival, Shanghai MISA Festival and the Beijing international Music Festival. From 2015, she is honoured to be the artistic director of Changsha International Guitar Festival.
Fei is frequently invited to play with the world’s leading orchestras including Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Royal Scotland National Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Orchestra, Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, Rotterdam Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Symphony Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, & Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic, China Philharmonic, China National Orchestra
Fei’s recent highlights include return performances with the English Chamber Orchestra, Halle Orchestra, Beijing Symphony Orchestra, Wintertour Philharmonic with Leo Brouwer conducting and Australian tour with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. She is also a committed recitalist and will be following on from the critical success she received in collaboration with Ian Bostridge on his album “Britten Songs” with a recital at the London’s Globe and a major tour across Asia. Fei’s dedication as a recitalist will see her appear across the world throughout the season. Her engagements include appearances in Sydney, Dallas, New York, GFA in America, China, Istanbul, London’s Kings Place (where she is giving two world premieres), Oxford, and Bristol. Since Xuefei premiered “Equipoise” by Timothy Salter, commissioned for her by the Park Lane Group, she has continued her journey to expand the guitar repertoire, with a particular interest in adding Chinese music and chamber music.She has made substantial new contributions both with her own arrangements and by commissioning new compositions. The recent Gramophone magazine praised her to be one of the leading innovators of her generation for building the guitar repertoire. This season sees her giving at least three world premiere performances.
Fei has made many albums including several acclaimed recordings for EMI Classics. Her first recording received a gold disc & her second was selected as ‘Editor’s Choice’ in Gramophone magazine. Several of the recordings reflect Fei’s interest in expanding the repertoire. A concerto album recorded with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Eiji Oue, featuring Rodrigo’s Concerto de Aranjuez also included a new Albeniz Concerto by Stephen Goss commissioned by EMI for Fei. Another recording of “Bach Concertos” featured Fei’s innovative transcriptions of solo works and concertos by J.S. Bach. Fei’s latest album “Heartstrings,” will be released by Universal in 2015, and again includes new transcriptions and original works for guitar.
Fei is one of the few guitarists whose artistry connect with audiences far beyond the guitar fraternity. She collaborates with an eclectic range of artists : classical musicians such as Jian Wang, Ian Bostridge, Rosalind Plowright, Sir James Galway and the Elias String Quartet ; pop musicians such as Jian Li, Leo Ku, & Eason Chen; cross-over artist Tommy Emmanuel, David Garrett. Fei has also appeared on numerous radio and television programmes including BBC Radio 4’s Woman's Hour, the BBC Proms, a BBC documentary ‘The Story of Guitar’, and China Central Television, who made a biographical documentary on Fei.
Xuefei was born in Beijing, & is a graduate of Beijing’s Central Conservatoire of Music, and went on to become the first Chinese musician to receive a full scholarship for postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London. The UK classical music magazine, Classic FM, named Xuefei as one of the 100 top classical musicians of our time. In recognition of her distinguished career, Fei was awarded ‘Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Music’ in June 2012. Xuefei is now based in the UK.
When not performing as a guitarist in Borneo or the Arctic Circle, Gerald Garcia composes music for film and live productions. His '25 Etudes Esquisses' for guitar solo have been recorded for NAXOS by John Holmquist and his music has been played and recorded by David Russell, Craig Ogden, Xue Fei Yang, Kuang Junhong, Su Meng, John Williams, the Amadeus Duo, the Eden-Stell Duo, the Tantalus Quartet, the Baltic Quartet, the LAGQ, Charivari Agreable, and violinists Takako Nishizaki, Mohamed Sharara and Vilhelmas Cepinskis, as well as major orchestras in Germany,Hong Kong, Lithuania and Egypt.
His Concerto for 2 Guitars based on themes collected by Garcia Lorca has been performed throughout Germany more than 50 times it has recently been recorded on the Hanssler label by the Amadeus Duo.
His orchestral and choral music has been performed at the Festival for Youth and Music two years running. His concerto for Violin, Guitar and Strings was premiered by Jeanne Christée and Florindo Baldessara at the Bad Munder celebrations in Germany, his work for Early Instrumental ensemble was broadcast in the Slovenia Early Music Festival by Charivari Agréable and his Prelude and Fugue for Accordion and String Quintet - "Signor Scarlatti in Buenos Aires" has been performed throughout Britain by the Oxford Concert Party.
His large scale choral work (Aeneid Fragments) with Brass, organ and timpani was premiered in Teignmouth in May 2003 and he wrote the music for a Carlton TV produc- tion 'Roswitha of Gandesheim' which was broadcast in 2003.
As a producer, he has recorded guitarist Kuang Junhong for the Naxos label and several piano programmes with Mark Hooper.
As a guitarist, he has recorded more than 14 CDs which have sold over 40,000 copies world-wide and plays in an Irish Group, with Simon Mayor s Mandolinquents and in duo with Alison Bendy.
Composer, conductor, guitarist,academic, pedagogue and event producer, Leo Brouwer stands amongst today's most illustrious musicians. His discography extends to over 750 titles, covering a catalogue of more than 300 compositions across almost every imaginable genre and style. He holds over 300 international awards and distinctions: He is an Honourary Member of UNESCO, the Italo-Latin-American Institute, the Academy of Fine Art of Granada; an Associate Academic of the Royal Academy of Science, Fine Art and Letters of Cordoba; a Member of the Cuban Academy of Language; and the recipient of awards from numerous other prestigious international institutions, including the Manuel de Falla Prize in Spain (1998), Honourary Doctorates from Havana and Santiago de Chile, the National Music Prize of Cuba (1999), the MIDEM Clasico Prize of Cannes (2003) for his Helsinki Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra, the Order of Pablo Neruda (2007), the Goffredo Petrassi Composition Prize (2008), the Cuban National Cinema Prize (2009), and the Tomas Luis de Victoria Ibero-american Music Prize (2010). He has conducted over 100 orchestras and chamber ensembles worldwide, including the Orchestra of Cordoba (1992-2001) and the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba (1981-2003). In Cuba he directed the first music departments of the ICAIC (1960) and the Music Theatre of Havana (1962). He was Founder and Director of the Grupo de Experimentacion Sonora of the ICAIC (1968), and Visiting Composer at the Academy of Arts and Sciences of Berlin (1970). He has been invited to judge numerous international guitar, composition and conducting competitions. Various groups and festivals bear his name, such as the Brouwer Guitar Quartet (USA), Brouwer Trio of Valencia (Spain) and the Leo Brouwer Young Sinfonia (Spain). Since 2005 he has directed the Oficina Leo Brouwer in Havana, under whose auspices he has presented the Leo Brouwer International Guitar Festival of Sao Paulo in Brazil; and in Havana, the Leo Brouwer Chamber Music Festival, Les Voix Humaines Festival and Countertenors of the World Festival.
Founded in 2007, the VIDA Guitar Quartet brings together four of the UK’s most exceptional guitarists. VIDA has appeared on some of North America’s and Europe's most prestigious stages for classical guitar, including, in the USA, the 2015 Guitar Federation of America Annual Conference, Atlanta’s Spivey Hall, Washington DC's Dumbarton Concerts, the Winter Park (FL) Bach Festival, University of New Orleans, the Long Island Guitar Festival and the Allegro Guitar Series in Dallas, Fort Worth, and Las Vegas. In the UK they have appeared atLondon's Purcell Room and Kingʼs Place, The Sage (Gateshead), Turner Sims (Southampton), and St Georgeʼs (Bristol). 201516 tours bring VIDA to over 20 U.S. cities.
Renowned as educators and for their for innovative outreach, VIDA participated in the world’s largest youth guitar education program (200+ students each summer) in the UK, and were Artists-in- Residence at Cal State University Monterey Bay’s Summer Arts program in 2012.
Following on from their acclaimed début CD, “Love, the Magician,” VIDA released their second CD, “Rhapsody,” in 2013, featuring works by George Gershwin, Malcolm Arnold and Adam Gorb. Their latest CD, released in 2015, is "The Leaves be Green," a CD of works by British composers including Benjamin Britten, Vaughan Williams, Elgar and more.
Christopher Stell, Mark Eden and Mark Ashford play guitars made by Christopher Dean. Amanda Cook’s guitar was made by Bert Kwakkel.
VIDA are D’Addario Strings classical artists.
Vida sparkled with vitality and spontaneity, weaving a rich tapestry of colour and breathtaking range of dynamics and percussive effects that held the audience spellbound . . . the visual interplay between 3 them enhancing an already superb performance. These are outstanding musicians, if you can, go hear them play.” —Acoustic
Magazine ”VIDA conjure up an orchestral palette of colour and effects . . .they play with technical brilliance and precise ensemble, creating alternately smoky and glittering colours in Fallaʼs El amor brujo that suit the gypsy heart of the music so well.” —Classic FM “Their range of timbres and colouration is so broad that one really does forget that there are four identical instruments. Their dynamic control, which ranges from an almost inaudible pianissimo to ranging fortissimos, is impressive.The Vida Guitar Quartetʼs ensemble throughout is exemplary and seemingly achieved with ease . . . their blending of tone is remarkably unified. The recording is well balanced and natural, with a warm tone quality and intimate clarity. This is a thoroughly enjoyable disc.” —International Record Review
“A crossover Fab Four . . . the Vida Guitar Quartet played Sunday’s concert in Miami Shores 50 years to the day from when the Beatles were unveiled to the American public on The Ed Sullivan Show . . . the electrifying Vida Quartet gave them a run for their money . . . The capacity audience took every opportunity to praise the quartet— standing, shouting, and clapping with gusto.” —The South Florida Classical Review
Berta Rojas ranks among today’s foremost classicalguita- rists.Shehasbeenpraisedas“guitaristextraordinaire”bythe Washington Post and by Classical Guitar Magazine as “Ambassador of the classical guitar”.
She has been nominated three times for a Latin Grammy Award; in the category of Best Instrumental Album for Díay Medio - A Day and a Half, a duet with Paquito D'Rivera (2012),in the category of Best ClassicalAlbum,for her album Salsa Roja (2014),and more recently in the category of Best Tango Album,for her albumHistory of Tango (2015),recorded with the Camerata Bariloche.
Berta’s acknowledged warmth and musicality have accorded her a place of preference among audiences that have applauded her at such major stages as the Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall and the Frederick P. Rose Hall of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, London’s South Bank Centre, Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.,the National Concert Hallin Dublin where she performed as a soloist with the Irish Radio and Television Orchestra, as well as the Flagley Studio 4 in Brussels where she performed with the Brussels Philhar- monic Orchestrafor the Belgian N Television.
In 2011, Berta, along with Paquito D’Rivera as guest star, initiated the four-year tour “In the Footsteps of Mangoré” which followed the travels of Agustín Barrios, pioneer of the classical guitar in the Americas. The duo performed in 20 Latin American and Caribbean cou-n tries, concluding the journey at the national theater of celebrated composer.
Her performances as a soloist showcase her mastery in terms of interpretation and technique. Berta takes the audience of each concert on a colorful journey of sounds embracing new works by composers of diverse genres. This is echoed in her discography which includes recordings such as Cielo Abierto (2006) and Terruño (2009), as well as the duo with Carlos Bar-bo sa-Lima in Alma y Corazón (2007) and the celebrated great Paraguayan composer and guitarist, Agustín Barrios.
In addition to continually enriching her own artistic career through frequent international tours giving committed to furthering and disseminating the class-i cal guitar. A particular focus is on promoting the music of her country, Paraguay, as well as Latin American music, and ongoing support for the careers of young, upcoming artists.
guitar competition, the Barrios World Wide Web Co-m petition in 2009. With two editions already held, it continues to generate tremendous interest through- out the guitar world.
Additionally, Berta was the Artistic Director of the three three editions of the Ibero-American Guitar Festival at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C., and co-founded the Beatty Music Scholarship Competition for Classical Guitar for youth, garnering the winners an opportunity to perform at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Berta Rojas first studied with Felipe Sosa, Violeta de Mestral in her native Paraguay. She then moved to Uruguay to study under Abel Carlevaro, and went on to get a Bachelor of Music degree from the Escuela Uni- versitaria de Música there as a student of Eduardo Fernández, while also taking lessons with Mario Payseé. She went on and added a Master of Music degree from Peabody Institute under the guidance of Manuel Barrueco. At Peabody, she also took lessons with Ray Chester and Julian Gray.
Over the last few years many honors have been bestowed on Berta. In 2015 she was named “Illustrious Ambassador of Paraguayan Musical Arts” by the Chamber of Senators and given the National Order of Comuneros by the Cham- ber of Deputies. In the same year, the Cabildo of her country named her “Master of Arts. In 2016 the Autono- mous University of Encarnación and the Universidad Americana of Asunción bestowed upon her Honorary Doctorate Degrees. And for her outstanding work on behalf of culture, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs awarded her the National Order of Merit “Don José Falcón” in 2017.
Rojas has been honored as a Fellow of the Americas by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for her artistic excellence. In a 2014 publication, the news agency EFE deems her one of the most influential women in the Hispanic World.
Johannes Moeller (Sweden)Johannes Moller, the European Guitarist and Composer
Johannes Möller has captivated audiences throughout the world with charismatic and soulful performances. In 2010 he was awarded first prize in the GFA Concert Artist Competition, considered by many to be the most prestigious guitar competition in the world. As a performer, Johannes’s artistry has reached well beyond the usual guitar circles. This was confirmed in March 2008 when he won the Dutch Vriendenkrans Concours while competing against performers in all instrumental categories. As a part of this award his name has been engraved on a metal plate that can be seen in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
Pure Talent
Johannes Möller was born in Stockholm, Sweden, November 29 1981. At the age of 12 as a self-taught composer Johannes experienced an outburst of creativity that resulted in a large quantity of mainly chamber music works for various instrumentations. A selection of these works was recorded on a CD with some of the top instrumentalists in Sweden when he was 14 years old. A critic from the Swedish newspaper Göteborgsposten wrote about these compositions, ”What is to become of Johannes Möller? A Swedish Mozart – in our time?”
“Two chords on the guitar and you are caught.”
In his later teenage years, Johannes continued composing experimenting with various compositional styles and techniques. It was however not until he composed his piece “When the Winds Dissolve” for alto flute and guitar in 2006 that he found his personal voice. The world premiere of this composition took place during the “Iserlohn International Guitar Symposium”. It was received with such enthusiasm from colleges and students alike that he decided to dedicate himself to mainly compose music for the guitar. In 2009, he won a “European Guitar Award” for his guitar solo composition and in October 2010, a CD was released of Johannes performing his own music.
Education Background
Johannes has earned a Bachelor of Music with Honors from the Royal College of Music in London where he studied guitar with Gary Ryan and Carlos Bonell and composition with William Mival. He has received a Masters degree from the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague where he studied with Zoran Dukic. He also received a scholarship for excellent students from the Royal Conservatoire that allowed him to study privately with Pavel Steidl in Czech Republic as well as composition lessons with Dusan Bogdanovic in the USA. He completed a second Masters degree at the Conservatoire in Amsterdam where he studied guitar with Lex Eisenhardt and composition with Richard Ayres.
Conservatorium Van Amsterdam
In September 2016 Johannes Möller took on the position of head of classical guitar studies at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Johannes has been already involved with working with students at the conservatory since late 2015 and looking forward to be involved more.
Johannes Möller in China
As the endorsor of MARTINEZ Guitar, Johannes completed a tour of 13 cites in China in June 2015. During this trip that took him wide across the country he wrote a collection of musical compositions called “Five Chinese Impressions”. These pieces are published at Dobermann-Yppan in April 2016.
Fabio Zanon is one of the pre-eminent guitarists of today as well as a teacher, chamber player, conductor, author, and broadcaster.
As a soloist Mr Zanon has played in over 40 countries, at venues including Royal Festival Hall and Wigmore Hall in London, Weill Hall at Carnegie and 92nd Y in New York, Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, Philharmonie in St Petersburg, Les Invalides in Paris, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Rio de Janeiro Opera House, Amazonas Theatre, Sala Verdi in Milan, Beaux Arts Centre in Brussels and KKL in Lucerne to name but a few. He has also regularly played at most major guitar and chamber music festivals around the world.
His repertoire includes more than 40 guitar concertos; he has played the world premiere of many of them, with orchestras such as London Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, Ulster Orchestra, RTÉ Symphony in Dublin, Israel Chamber Orchestra, I Fiamminghi, and Salzburg Chamber Orchestra. With the São Paulo Symphony - OSESP he has recorded Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez and Francis Hime's Guitar Concerto, conducted by Alondra de la Parra, a recording nominated for a Latin Grammy award in 2011.
He is sought after as a chamber player, having played together with such distinguished musicians as cellist Antonio Meneses, violinists Nigel Kennedy, Nicolas Koeckert and Daishin Kashimoto, flautist Marcelo Barboza and singers of all styles, ranging from soprano Carole Farley to folk and pop singers like Toquinho, Ney Matogrosso and Maria Mulata.
He has also been recognized as a conductor and is perhaps the only guitarist who regularly performs as a soloist/conductor. He has directed the award-winning South American premiere of Michael Nyman's opera The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat. As a broadcaster he has conceived and presented over 200 programmes for Radio Cultura in São Paulo, many of whose have been adopted as teaching material at music schools in Brazil and Portugal.
Mr Zanon had his musical education in his native Brazil, where his main teachers were his father and professors Antonio Guedes and Henrique Pinto. He holds a bachelor degree from University of São Paulo and a Master of Music degree from the University of London. He moved in 1990 to London where he studied at the Royal Academy of Music with Michael Lewin, where he also attended master classes with Julian Bream and John Williams. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy Music, an accolade reserved for exceptionally distinguished alumni.
Although not greatly drawn to competitions, Mr Zanon had his career propelled with the first prize at both the Guitar Foundation of America in the USA and the Francisco Tarrega Competition in Spain in 1996. Prior to that he had been a top prize winner of competitions in Alessandria (Italy), Toronto and Havana.
Mr Zanon has been a Visiting Professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London since 2009; he has also been a regular teacher at the Master Guitarra Alicante in Spain since 2014. In 2008 he was an artist-in-residence at the Royal Stockholm Conservatoire in Sweden. He's been a teacher-in-residence at the Lisbon-Estoril International Festival since 2011. He has given master classes at most prestigious schools in the USA, Canada, South America and Europe, including Juilliard and Gnessin School. Since 2014 Mr Zanon has been the artistic and educational director of the Campos do Jordão International Music Festival in Brazil, the largest classical music festival in South America, where he supervises orchestral and chamber practice of hundreds of orchestral students.
Mr Zanon's recordings are now released exclusively by GuitarCoop (guitarcoop.com.br).
Professor of Guitar at the Yale University School of Music and Artistic Director of the biennial Yale Guitar Extravaganza, with generous support from the D’Addario Foundation since 1985, and Artistic Director of 92Y’s Art of the Guitar series (NYC) since 2006, Benjamin Verdery is hailed for his innovative and eclectic musical career.
Since 1980 he has performed worldwide in theaters and at festivals, including Theatre Carré and Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), the International Guitar Festival in Havana, Wigmore Hall (London), Festival Internacional de Guitarra de Taxco (Mexico), Iserlohn Festival in Germany, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Metropolitan Opera and Carnegie Hall (New York). His tours regularly take him throughout the USA, Canada, Europe and Asia. He has recorded and performed with such diverse artists as John Williams, Herman Prey, Andy Summers, Jessye Norman, Paco Peña, Frederic Hand, William Coulter, Leo Kottke, Anthony Newman, Bryce Dessner and most recently Hip Hop artist Billy Dean Thomas.
As a recording artist, Verdery has released over 15 CDs. His latest include Happy Here (2011), with William Coulter, First You Build A Cloud (2007), a collaboration with Andy Summers of The Police, and Branches (2007), a solo album featuring arrangements of Bach, Mozart, Strauss and Hendrix. His recording of his solo compositions Start Now won the 2005 Classical Recording Foundation Award.
Ben has been commissioned and recorded by some of the world’s foremost guitarist including the Assad Brothers, David Russell, John Williams and the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. His piece Ellis Island for guitar ensemble has had numerous performances around the world and most recently featured on NYC’s New Sounds Live.
In 2007 Ben was appointed an honorary board member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas, and the summer of 2016 marks the 18th anniversary of his annual Maui Master Class on the island of Maui, Hawaii.
Eden-Stell Guitar Duo (England)Internationally renowned for their dynamism, innovation and breathtaking virtuosity the Eden Stell Guitar Duo have "breathed new life into the world of the classical guitar." (Rotterdam Dagblad).
Widely regarded as one of the world’s leading guitar ensembles, the duo’s chameleon- like ability to communicate in a multitude of musical styles makes them a constantly evolving entity with a unique creative voice.
Likened to a "miraculous single guitarist blessed with an impossibly wonderful technique and an exceptionally delicate touch" (The Observer), the Eden Stell Guitar Duo have been invited to perform at venues and music festivals around the world; including Germany, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Romania, Turkey, USA, Canada, Mexico, South and Central America and Australia, plus numerous radio and TV appearances on ITV, BBC and European and North American networks.
Mark Eden and Christopher Stell graduated from the Royal Academy of Music as recipients of the Principal’s Prize and the Julian Bream Prize, and continued their studies in Brussels with the Brazilian guitar duo Sérgio and Odair Assad.
Soon after, the Duo were selected to perform for the Park Lane Group’s Young Artists’ Concert Series and won the South East Musicians’ Platform competition, giving them debut concerts at London’s Wigmore Hall and Southbank Centre where they have since become regular artists, performing at both venues for music organisations such as "Live Music Now!," the Kirckman Concert Society, Classical Guitar Magazine, and the International Guitar Foundation.
Mark's and Chris’ concerto engagements have included performances with the Prague Chamber Orchestra and International Philharmonic at some of Europe’s largest venues including the Beethovenhalle and Stuttgart Liederhalle, with recent international recitals for prestigious events such as Guitar Foundation of America (2009), Omni Foundation Concert Series in San Francisco (2010), Wigmore Hall London (2009), London Guitar Festival at Kings Place (2008-9), The Sage Gateshead (2008-9), Alla Grande Festival in Canada (2009) and Uppsala Kongress Hall Sweden (2010), as well as many others.
The duo were the first guitarists since Julian Bream to be Editor’s Choice in Gramophone magazine with their ‘land mark recording’ of works by Stephen Dodgson. They have recorded 7 CDs to date on BSG, Hannsler Classics, and Docker labels, and are dedicatees of new works by internationally acclaimed composers Stephen Dodgson, Adam Gorb, Dusan Bogdanovic, Gary Ryan, and Johannes Möller.
Mark and Chris are founding members of the VIDA Guitar Quartet, which has rapidly become one of the most celebrated guitar ensembles in the last few years with concerts in Europe and USA and rave reviews for their three CDs. They are also artistic directors of the Winchester Guitar Festival and the hugely popular World Youth Guitar Festival, the only classical guitar festival in the world dedicated to young players with over 200 students attending from over 15 countries as far a field as USA and Australia.
Mark and Chris were elected Associates of the Royal Academy of Music in recognition of their outstanding musical achievements and they both currently hold
teaching positions at the Royal College of Music, Birmingham Conservatoire, and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. The duo are D’Addario Strings endorsed artists.
The spanish guitar virtuoso
Over the last three decades , spanish guitar has undergone a most remarkable transformation . The traditional techniques inherent in this iconic instrument have been influenced and strengthened by an ample variety of schools , trends and styles .
The indisputable pioneer of this revolution is paco de lucía (1947-2014). The legendary spanish guitar master paved the way for other guitarists who have ceaselessly shaped contemporary spanish guitar into the uniquely rich and complex musical art of our days .
Javier conde is the utmost current representative of this young vanguard .
Known as a musical child prodigy , he began his training at the age of four with his father , seasoned guitarist josé antonio conde . javier conde then continued his studies under the guidance of andrés batista .
Conde began performing at the early age of six and has since conquered an impressive series of awards . among some of the most renowned ones are :
The 1998 young promises of spanish guitar award (los cernícalos flamenco group , jerez de la frontera , cádiz ),
The 2002 córdoba athenaeum award ,
The 2003 city of jaén award ,
The 2004 bordón minero award (cante de las minas international festival , la unión , murcia ), with conde as the youngest honoree in the history of the festival ,
The 2013 miguel acàl national award of flamenco critique , which conde received from the spanish guitar master antonio fernández díaz‘fosforito’,
The first award in the 2016 III alcobendas flamenca new talents international guitar competition ,
The especial 2016 award of the association of spanish artists and performers (aie, sociedad de artistas intérpreteso ejecutantes de españa )
Conde has collaborated with important artists such as andrés batista , manolo sanlúcar , víctor monge ‘serranito ’, gerardo núñez , rafael riqueni , Enrique de melchor and the prestigious filmmaker carlos saura . he has also worked along artists from other musical genres suchas john paul jones (led zeppelin ) and elíades ochoa (buena vista social club ) in the 2009 africa express festival and the 2009 womad festival (london , uk).
Conde has taken partin shows sabicas and retrospectiva (‘retrospective ’) by gerardo núñez . He has also collaborated with flamenco dancer carmen cortés in mujeres de lorca (‘l orca’ swomen’) and la gitanilla (‘the little gipsy girl’) (2015). Moreover , he featured in carlos saura ’s flamenco india as first guitarist as well as in the famous madrid flamenco stage café de chinitas .
Conde has created two exquisite shows : maestros yestilos (‘masters and their styles’) and el flamenco y su vibrante mundo (‘flamenco and its vibrant world’).
He has held concerts in spain , usa, canada , brasil , costa rica , cuba , italy , france , croatia , czech republic , united kingdom , germany , sweden , ustria , the netherlands , belgium , hungary , romania , japan , lebanon and north africa .
He currently has four records as a guitar soloist : homenaje a los grandes de la guitarra flamenca (2000,‘a tribute to the great spanish guitar masters ’), envivo desde el festival de la danza de lyon (2008,‘live from lyon dance festival ’), temas andalucesy flamencos by the spanish master and
Ekachai Jearakul is considered one of today’s most outstanding classical guitarists on the international scene. In 2014, he became the first Asian guitarist to win the prestigious Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition (GFA). This prize entails a fifty- concerts tour in many countries also in the United States culminating in a Carnegie Hall debut in New York City, and recordings on the Naxos and the GHA labels, with worldwide distribution.
Between 2003 and 2014, Ekachai earned an impressive list of honors, which include twelve first prizes at prestigious international guitar competitions in Europe, Asia, and North America. He has performed in over sixteen countries, including Thailand, China, France, Korea, Russia, Greece, Japan, Austria, England, Italy, Germany, Maxico, Philippines,Indonesia,Spain,Singapore and the United States. In 2011, he commissioned new arrangements and recorded a CD with music of the King of Thailand, His Majesty Bhumibol Adulyadej.
Ekachai has collaborated with distinguished conductors such as JoAnn Falletta and Bundit Ungrangsee, and has appeared with orchestras around the world, including the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, the International Orchestra of Italy, the Unity Philharmonic Orchestra, the Ukraine Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Ensemble of Soloists “Kiev Camerata,” the Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute Orchestra (Thailand), the Orquesta Sinaloá de los Artes (Mexico), and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra (USA).
Born in 1987 in Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand, Ekachai Jearakul started guitar studies at the age of thirteen. His professional training, as a full scholarship student, began at Mahidol University College of Music, where he completed a Bachelor in Music degree in Classical Guitar Performance with Dr. Paul Cesarczyk. Subsequently, Ekachai went on to earn a Master’s degree in Guitar Performance at Salzburg’s Mozarteum with Prof. Marco Tamayo. Since 2007, Thai Bev “Sangsom” Thai Talent has sponsored Ekachai.
Yi Chen, Assistant Professor of Central Conservatory of Music’s Institute of Music Education and Visiting Professor as Master Supervisor of Musicology Program At International Asian Art Academy (AIAAA) Bankokthonburi University, Thailand.
Professor Chen worked in CCOM since 1987, she played cello with China Liberation Army Singing and Dancing Troup, then she learned the guitar performance by Professor Chen Zhi. She earned Arts Education Master Degree in CCOM in 2006. She went toColumbusStateUniversitySchwabMusicSchoolas the exchange scholar in 2008, and research the Western Classical Guitar Teaching method by Professor Andrew Zohn. During these time, she also went to Southern California University to be with LAGQ (Los Angeles Guitar Quartet), and Toronto University with Professor Jeffry McFadden, as well as Canadian classical guitarist Bagher Moazen.
Professor Chen teaches classical guitar and other alternative causes. Her students earned great merit in theChinaand International competition. Besides, she takes the research subjects in CCOM, her research article such as : “The limitation for the guitar left hand“ ， “Study for the Western Classical Guitar Teaching System”, “Africa-Cuban Music Style Study – Leo Brouwer”. Also, “Guitar Music for the Foreign Songs”, “Guitar Tab Music” were published by The People’s Music Publisher.
Professor Chen played guitar for Mahler “No. 7 Symphony” and Shostakovich “No. 2 Jazz Suite” with EOS symphony and China National Symphony Orchestra in National Arts and Performance Center and Beijing Music Concert Hall. She was the director of judge for “Shenyang International Guitar Festival” and “Hunan Changsha International Guitar Festival” in recent years. She was the judge for CSU Guitar Symposium from 2011-2016; and she was a judge for the most prestige “GFA （Guitar Foundation of America ）International Guitar Competition in Jun , 2011.
Professor Chen took her students to compete in 2014 Thailand International Guitar Festival in Nov. 2014, and won four division champions (Professional Artist Division, Youth Senior Division, Youth Junior Division II and Children Division) out of five divisions.
Professor Chen is appointed as Visiting Professor as Master Supervisor of Musicology Program At International Asian Art Academy (AIAAS) Bankokthonburi University, Thailand in 2015.
After Mr. Chen, China's second-generation echelon in classical guitar teaching is gradually recognized by guitar academic world in Europe and America. Bao Xu is one of those representatives. As an associate professor of Sichuan Conservatory of Music and Master Instructor, Xu’s achievement in teaching is obviously seen. Numerous students realized their dream with the instruction of Xu, among which Junhong Kuang, one of his students, tops most. He had ever held a recital in Carnegie Hall and released his solo albums in the laurel series of Naxos Record Company. At present, he had won the full awards of Peabody Conservatory of Music and will study further under the guidance of Manuel Barrueco.
In his spare time, Xu is often invited to perform in the Conservatory of Music around the world and give lectures or be as a judge in the Art Festival such as Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, The University of Music Detmold, University of Münster, Germany Iserlohn International Guitar Festival, Germany Weimar Anna Maria International Youth Guitar Festival, Spain Alhambra International Guitar Competition, South Korea Daejeon International Guitar Festival, and Thailand International Guitar Festival.
HE QING Associate Professor of Classical Guitar TJCM
He graduated from Tianjin Conservatory of Music in 1998, master of musicology. From 1997, he took guitar lessons from Prof. Chen Zhi at Central Conservatory of Music. In 2001, he established the guitar faculty in TJCM and the attached Middle School. From 2008, he was also invited to teach at Central Conservatory of Music. 2003-04 and 2014-15, as visiting scholar he studied lute and early music at die Hochschule für Musik, Theater and Medien Hannover with Prof. Hans Michael Koch. Besides classical guitar, he also plays lute and baroque guitar, while occasionally plays continuo in chamber music.
Peter Fang graduated from Xiamen (University), major in both of Law and English. He is not only a guitarist, but also a famous guitar educator, collector and connoisseur. At present, he is the Managing Director of Xiamen Philharmonic and the president of Fujian Guitar association.
Peter had ever studied with many guitar masters, including Zoran Dukic and Esther Steenbergen and many others. He is frequently invited to be the judge at many important National and International Guitar Competitions. Moreover, he is often invited to give lectures and concerts, including the invitation from Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra, Xiamen University etc. Peter is also an excellent guitar educator.
Peter organized and sponsored many National and International guitar academic activities and festivals, including the Gulangyu Guitar Festival. He has ever invited Zoran Dukic,Marcin Dylla,Denis Azabagic,JanDepreter,SanelRedzic, Esther Steenbergen,OlgaFranssen,MaartenKoningsberger,OttoVowinkel,GarySouthwell, Xuefei Yang, Alfredo Huang to perform and give master classes in China.
Peter is an accomplished expert in guitar- making and appreciation. His book The Appreciation and Making of the Classical Guitar is by far the first and the only monograph in the field in China.
Peter Fang is also the founder of “GuitarIsland” website, which is one of the most influential classical guitar websites in China. He published a tremendous amount of articles about guitar method, guitar making and music appreciation on the website.
Dr Kenneth Kwan graduated from State University of New York at Buffalo majoring in classical guitar, conducting and music theory. The Buffalo News called his playing “sensitive” and “Legato” commented on a performance of his which received “an ovation that clearly reflected the audience’s delight.” On Kwan’s conducting the Buffalo News wrote: "Its (the performance's) success here surely owed something to Kwan's sure-looking and persuasive manner with the music and the musicians." He is also an internationally recognized expert in the music of Chinese American composer Chou Wen-chung.
Dr Kwan was Community Cultural Ambassador for the Hong Kong government's Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) in 2004 and 2009, as well as Artist-in-Residence for various performing venues throughout Hong Kong. His series of lectures on guitar music for the LCSD 6 years in a row had received popular acclaim. The Guitar School Days program he designed and presented on behalf of the HK government had for 3 years in a row toured in different venues and brought guitar music to thousands of enthusiastic secondary school students.
In addition to performing concerts for Radio Television Hong Kong's (RTHK) program "Hong Kong Recital Hall", Dr Kwan had written and presented radio programs for Radio 4, as well as offering insights on the guitar for the populace on various cultural programs for Hong Kong Television Broadcasting (HKTVB).
Dr Kwan has taught at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and the Hong Kong Chinese University. He was Associate Professor and Director of International Exchange at the Kunming Arts Academy. Since 2006 he has established the classical guitar programs in the Orchestral Studies Department of the Guangzhou Xinghai Conservatory, Xinghai Conservatory Graduate School, and Supplementary Highschool of Xinghai Conservatory, where he currently teaches. He has given lectures in Beijing (Central Conservatory), Shanghai (Shanghai Spring/Shanghai Conservatory), Taipei (Taipei-Canada Arts Festival), Kunming, Guangzhou, Macau and Hong Kong. He has also written for international guitar journals such as Hawaii's "Guitar and Lute", Guitar Foundation of America's "Soundboard" and the Hong Kong Guitar Information Alliance's online magazine "GIA News". He was on judging panels for competitions in the US, China and Hong Kong. The 16 volumes teaching manuals on contemporary music for secondary and primary school "Understanding Contemporary Music: A Teaching Resource Kit (with CD and DVD)" that he co-wrote and co-edited was published in 2006 by the Hong Kong Chinese University Press.
He took office in the Zhejiang Industry University. He was the vice president of the guitar professional committee of Zhengjiang music Institute. In 2005, he began to teach guitar. Several of his students were crowned in the national guitar contests. He held the Hangzhou international guitar festerval in 2008. In the same year, the “sounds of nature” guitar art center in Hangzhou was founded. This Art center owns more than 10 professional classical guitar teachers and more than 200 guitar youth learners.
Haibiao Zhaowas graduated from Yunnan Normal University. Now he assumes office in the Modern Music Department of Yunnan Art College. He is also a professional classical guitar teacher in the Fine Art Department, School of Art and Design,Yunnan University. From 1993 to 2005，he went on professional tour in many major cities around China. Till now he’ve held several solo concerts and been as a judge in numerous important guitar competitions. In 2006 ,the Haibiao guitar art school was founded in Kunming In 2013 , his classical guitar album,"Listen to the Sea" was Published.
Faculty of Shanghai Conservatory of Music; Member of Council of Shanghai Guitar Professional Committee;Contributing Editor at Shanghai Music Publishing House
After study abroad, Mr. Min joined the Shanghai Music Publishing House as an editor. He currently teaches the classical guitar at Shanghai Conservatory of Music.
In contemporary music, Zhenqipremiered the guitar concerto,Symphonic VariationsbyXuMengdong in the 33rd Shanghai Spring International Music Festival. Besides, he performedPoemeLyrique IIby Chen Qigang,Vacuite and Consistanceby XuShuya, and other modern pieces.
In addition, Zhenqi has been commissioned by SMPH since 2009. He is the author ofThe Pop Musicand111 Pieces of Classic Guitar Works, and the translator ofMel Bay Presents Complete Giuliani Studies.
B.M., Shanghai Conservatory of Music, studied with Mr. Dengmin Ye.
M.M., with Academic Honor, a recipient of Beneficent Society Scholarship, New England Conservatory, studied with Mr. Eliot Fisk.
Jiajiong Li, guitar faculty in Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing.
Mr. Li studied classical guitar with Professor Zhi Chen in 1990. He attended the Middle School affiliated to the Central Conservatory of Music in 1993, and then entered the Conservatory in 1997. He has performed on solo and chamber recitals in venues such as the National Center for the Performing Arts, Beijing Music Hall, and Zhongshan Music Hall.
Mr Li received both his Bachelor of Music and Master's degrees from the Central Conservatory, and in 2001 joined the faculty. During his teaching years, he has given master classes at Wuhan Conservatory, Shenzhen Art School, and Macao Conservatory, among others.
In 2010, he received a scholarship from the China Study Council and went to Rome Conservatory as a visiting scholar.
In 2013, his student, Xiaobo Pu, won first prize in the senior division of the Guitar Foundation of America International Competition, and another student, Beiyan Liu, won third prize in the junior division of the GFA International Competition. In 2014, Mr. Pu was admitted to the Curtis Institute of Music.
Zhengxian Qian, head of guitar department in Wuhan conservatory.
Mr Qian Studied classic guitar with professor Zhi Chen in Central conservatory of music, China and received bachelor of music degree in 2001. He has been performed in many places such as “classical guitar concert” for CCOM’s 50 anniversary in Central conservatory of music. In 2000, he was invited as one of the jury by Fujian music society for it’s guitar competition. In 2004, he founded the guitar department in Wuhan Conservatory.
Mr Qian has participated in festivals including Ligitar international guitar festival (Swiss), Bach guitar festival(Japan), Tianjin guitar festival(China), Guitar Foundation of America festival (USA), Among others. Mr Qian edited the “guitar grades for examination” and published a paper called “Bach in classical guitar world.”