Born in Gabrovo, Bulgaria, Dorisiya Yosifova is a San Francisco based violinist and instructor. Her musical training began very early on at the age of 5, and her first solo debut came at the age of 7 with the Gabrovian Chamber Orchestra in Bulgaria. By the time Dorisiya was in middle school, she had already committed to pursuing music for a career and was accepted to the National School of Music in Sofia. There, under the instruction of Katya Dramalieva, Dorisiya won numerous national and international competitions.
At 15, Dorisiya won a full scholarship to the Idyllwild Arts Academy in California and left her home country to study violin in the US. During her years at Idyllwild, Dorisiya won the Idyllwild Arts Academy Concerto Competition and the Eastern Music Festival award for Orchestral excellence, as well as Idyllwild Arts Academy’s “Most Outstanding Freshman” award. She gained invaluable training in ensemble playing as concertmaster of the Idyllwild Arts Academy orchestra, and in solo playing in master classes with Midori Goto, Sergiu Schwartz, Ian Swensen, and others. Additionally at 18, Dorisiya collaborated with folk legend Richard Thompson and Harry Shearer in recording and premiering Thompson’s album, “Cabaret of Souls.”
In 2015, Dorisiya completed a Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance from Oberlin Conservatory. There, she studied with Gregory Fulkerson and Marilyn McDonald. During her time at Oberlin, she played in orchestra and chamber music ensembles under the direction of Raphael Jimenez and Timothy Weiss. She also performed alongside the Jupiter Quartet in Oberlin’s Winter Term Intensive chamber music festival, performed at Carnegie Hall with the conservatory’s orchestra during their New York tour, and New York’s Le Poisson Rouge as part of the Next Festival. During her time at the conservatory, Dorisiya has played as Concertmaster and Principal Second with the Round Top Festival Orchestra, as well as with the Next Fest Orchestra, and in 2015 she won Marrowstone’s string fellowship award. A passionate instructor, Dorisiya was also a part of Oberlin Conservatory’s Secondary Student program and taught violin lessons to college students and other community members.
Dorisiya completed her Master of Music degree in Violin Performance at The Boston Conservatory at Berklee in 2017. During her time at the Conservatory, she took part in a string leadership masterclass for principal players with Boston Symphony Orchestra member Haldan Martinson and performed as Principal Second Violinist with multiple orchestras at the conservatory. Dorisiya’s primary teacher was Rictor Noren, with whom she studied violin and string pedagogy. Shortly after graduating, Dorisiya also became Professor Noren’s Teaching Assistant, who first discovered Dorisiya’s talent for teaching.
Dorisiya currently enjoys an active career in music as a teacher and performer. As an orchestra musician, Dorisiya has performed with the Apollo ensemble of Boston as Principal Second Violinist, the Cape Ann Symphony as Section Player and the Lowell House Opera as Concertmaster. Before her move to the Bay Area in 2021, Dorisiya had a strong concertizing career in the music community in Boston as a solo and chamber musician and performed at venues such as the Art Complex Museum, King’s Chapel, Wellesley Library and others. Dorisiya is also quickly building her musical presence here in San Francisco where she most recently performed a violin recital as part of the Old First Concert Series. She is currently the Principal Second Violinist of the Golden Gate Symphony Orchestra & the Concertmaster of San Francisco Civic Symphony and regularly performs with Stockton Symphony and North State Symphony. Enthusiastic about teaching, Dorisiya has taught at the Community Music Center in SF, the Community School of Music and Arts in South Bay and MidPeninsula Music Academy in Redwood City, amongst others. Currently, Dorisiya is the Artistic Director and Faculty at the the Maud Powell String Institute – a highly accessible string preparatory nonprofit program, providing a comprehensive and high-quality classical music education to immigrant and low income families in Novato, CA. Dorisiya originally founded the program in 2020 in MA; then eventually moved to the Bay Area.
In her free time, Dorisiya enjoys the California sunny beaches which she greatly missed when living in Boston, spending time with loved ones, and watching documentaries.
Dorisiya Yosifova, Violin 