Press Room

Violinist Jassen Todorov named director of SF State School of Music and Dance

SAN FRANCISCO, August 20, 2008 -- Celebrated violinist Jassen Todorov was recently named director of the School of Music and Dance at San Francisco State University. He now leads one of the longest-standing and most diverse performing arts programs in Northern California.

"Professor Todorov is more than a prodigious talent in music and teaching. He is also a natural leader," said Kurt Daw, dean of SF State's College of Creative Arts. "He has ambitious goals for the School of Music and Dance, a strong ability to work in teams, and remarkable energy and enthusiasm."

Todorov, 33, joined the SF State faculty in 2003. He has taught courses in violin, strings, chamber music literature and career management in music. He also mentors violin students individually.

"It is an honor to work with such an accomplished, supportive faculty," Todorov said. "We look forward to expanding our outreach in the Bay Area's rich performing arts community, to position the School of Music and Dance as the most attractive academy for new talent on the West Coast."

His accomplishments include winning a 2006 Crystal Lyre Award, the highest honor for achievement in music and dance in his native Bulgaria. At age 26, he became the youngest musician to record all six violin sonatas of Eugene Ysaye, a Belgian composer and violinist known for his difficult compositions and fiery individualism as a player. Todorov has also recorded Brahms' three violin sonatas.

Dubbed "a player to watch" by music journal The Strad in 2001, Todorov has played and taught master classes throughout Europe, Australia, Asia and the U.S. and garnered much acclaim for his intense, original musicianship. He has performed more than 200 solo recitals -- at venues such as Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall in New York, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts in Los Angeles. He earned his master's degree from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., where he studied with Oleh Krysa. Visit: www.jassentodorov.com.

The SF State School of Music and Dance, based in the College of Creative Arts, offers professional and liberal arts degrees, with more than 400 students enrolled in major programs. Music students can study jazz, classical, choral, world music, electronic music, composition, music education and more. Dance students are trained in techniques such as ballet, modern, jazz, capoeira, flamenco, kathak, Afro-Haitian and Dunham as well as preparation for K-12 dance education. Alumni include Tony and Grammy winners who conduct Broadway musicals and symphony orchestras and perform in operas. Some work as composers, arrangers, producers, conductors, singers, dancers, choreographers, educators, and leaders of professional arts organizations. The School of Music and Dance is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. Visit: http://musicdance.sfsu.edu.

SF State Art Department Faculty Exhibition displays distinction and inspiration

SAN FRANCISCO, August 11, 2008 -- A collective of premier Bay Area artists -- better known as the faculty in San Francisco State University's Art Department -- present an inspiring showcase of their work Sept. 23 - Nov. 8. The 2008 SF State Art Department Faculty Exhibition, in the Fine Arts Gallery, showcases more than 40 recent works by 19 tenured and tenure-track faculty members. Representing the diversity of the faculty and the disciplines they teach, the exhibition includes stimulating works of ceramics, photography, printmaking, painting, drawing, textiles, sculpture, video and multimedia installation.

Admission to the Fine Arts Gallery is always free. The opening reception will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Sept. 23.

The 2008 SF State Art Department Faculty Exhibition features both long-established luminaries and rising stars of the art community -- including some of the Bay Area's most critically acclaimed, widely exhibited artists and scholars.

Lewis deSoto's "Pakhan-gyi" consists of two mirror-image footprints, based on the earliest known illustrations of the Buddha. The print is compiled from thousands of thumbnail images of Internet pornography. deSoto is known for his photography, installation, sculpture and public art, engaging cosmological questions and notions of self, playing with inherent phenomena. His work is in the public collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and San Diego.

Gail Dawson's "Mobiustrip" is an original watercolor transformed into an animated video. Showing a taped horse race in black and white, the 3- by 20-foot piece was photographed as it was made. Driven by questions of time, motion and space, Dawson creates paintings and drawings first as a single image, then developing a recorded history as individual sequential frames. She has enjoyed many solo exhibitions throughout Texas, and more recently displayed her work in Sweden, San Francisco and the U.S. Department of State's Art in Embassies Program in Washington, D.C.

Fresh off a solo exhibition at Braunstein/Quay Gallery in San Francisco this spring, Paul Pratchenko displays recent paintings that conjure memories and dreams of the real world. Renowned for his narrative and figurative non-sequiturs that incorporate political and ecological topics, Pratchenko has focused his recent work such as "Subtlety Befits Log Jam" (charcoal and mixed media on paper) and "Teacher" (acrylic on canvas) on the idiosyncratic nature of ordinary, daily activities.


"Sunday Afternoon at Ballena Bay," a woodcut by Sylvia Solochek Walters, incorporates birds and other animals metaphors for family relationships. Inspired by illuminated Hebrew manuscripts, Walters' recent works take photographic sources from family albums, topical magazines and newspapers to weave miniature story-telling images with cultural symbols. Walters has been exhibiting her prints worldwide for 50 years. Her work is included in public collections such as the Oakland Museum, St. Louis and Milwaukee art museums, Judah Magnes Museum, and Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts at the San Francisco Fine Arts Museums.

"Jump 5" and "Jump 6," woven textile pieces by Victor De La Rosa, depict the struggle to overcome barriers needed to reach another state of being or perhaps escape. In all his textile works, De La Rosa explores the convergence and boundaries of technology, art and design. His specialty and studio practice centers on computer-interfaced weaving and printing technology. The U.S./Mexico border debate, in addition to his personal experience with this region, serves as inspiration and source material. De La Rosa won a Merit Prize in 2007 at the Third European Textile and Fibre Art Triennial in Riga, Latvia, where he was one of three American artists selected to exhibit.

The Art Department Faculty Exhibition also features works by Susan Belau (printmaking), Jeff Downing (ceramics), Barbara Foster (printmaking), Leonard Hunter (sculpture), Mark Johnson (painting), David Kuraoka (ceramics), Mario Laplante (printmaking installation), Paula Levine (multimedia installation), Julia Marshall (drawing), Paul Mullins (painting), Danielle Mysliwiec (painting), Francisco Perez (sculpture) and Irene Poon (photography). In addition, faculty members in art history -- Gwen Allen, Judith Bettelheim, James Davis, Santhi Kavuri-Bauer and Richard Mann -- will display selections of their scholarly publications at an information table.

"The 2008 Faculty Exhibition illustrates the depth and diversity of media and scholarly achievements that the Art Department faculty are engaged in," said Foster, Art Department chair. "Our nationally and internationally recognized faculty and staff continue to show remarkable currency and professionalism, reflecting on the quality and breadth of programs offered in the Art Department."

The most recent group show of SF State Art faculty works was held in spring 2004.

The SF State Art Department offers one of Northern California's most diverse and vital programs in visual arts. Students develop specialized skills, personal creative direction and learn the history and cultural traditions that shape artistic expression. More than 100 courses in traditional art media, innovative and multi-disciplinary techno-media and art history provide training for a variety of related careers. Accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design, the department offers concentrations that showcase both long-established and next-generation media. Three degree programs are offered: the bachelor of arts, the master of arts with an emphasis in art history, and the master of fine arts with an emphasis in studio.

Location and Parking
The Fine Arts Gallery is located in the Fine Arts building on the SF State campus, 1600 Holloway Ave. (at 19th Ave.), San Francisco. Public parking is available in Lot 20, accessed from Lake Merced Boulevard between Winston Drive and Font Boulevard. On weekends and evenings only, public parking is available in Lots 1 and 2, on Holloway Ave. (at 19th Ave.). Parking is $1 per hour with a $5 daily maximum. Nearby street parking is readily available on weekends. For details, visit www.sfsu.edu/~parking.

Calendar Editors, Please Note: 2008 SF State Art Department Faculty Exhibition Tuesday, Sept. 23 - Saturday, Nov. 8
The 2008 SF State Art Department Faculty Exhibition features both long-established luminaries and rising stars of the art community -- including some of the Bay Area's most critically acclaimed, internationally recognized artists and scholars. Susan Belau (printmaking), Gail Dawson (painting), Lewis deSoto (photography), Victor De La Rosa (textiles), Jeff Downing (ceramics), Barbara Foster (printmaking), Leonard Hunter (sculpture), Mark Johnson (painting), David Kuraoka (ceramics), Mario Laplante (printmaking installation), Paula Levine (multimedia installation), Julia Marshall (drawing), Paul Mullins (painting), Danielle Mysliwiec (painting), Francisco Perez (sculpture), Irene Poon (photography), Paul Pratchenko (painting), Sylvia Solochek Walters (printmaking) and Steve Wilson (multimedia installation).

Fine Arts Gallery, Fine Arts building, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Ave. (at 19th Ave.), San Francisco
Admission: Free
Information: 415/338-6535, gallery.sfsu.edu
Gallery hours: Tuesdays - Saturdays, noon - 4 p.m.; Wednesdays, noon - 5 p.m.
Opening reception: Tuesday, Sept. 23, 4 - 6 p.m.

IMAGES/INTERVIEWS: For images and to schedule interviews, contact Matt Itelson at 415/338-1442 or matti@sfsu.edu.