Executive & Artistic Director — Lead Premier Arts Center

Organization

Nestled on the southernmost part of California State University, Northridge (CSUN), The Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts (The Soraya) welcomes the world to CSUN and fosters the creativity, curiosity, and intellectual development of its students, faculty, and staff. The Soraya serves as a premier cultural hub for CSUN, the San Fernando Valley, and the greater Los Angeles region.

Its mission is to offer diverse, inclusive, and world‑class performances that enrich the cultural and educational fabric of the region, while supporting CSUN’s educational mission. The Soraya is committed to supporting both established and emerging artists and fostering campus and community engagement through the transformative power of the arts.

Originally opened in 2011 as the Valley Performing Arts Center, The Soraya was renamed in 2017 in recognition of a major gift from arts philanthropists Younes and Soraya Nazarian. Designed with state‑of‑the‑art acoustics and architectural excellence, the 1,690‑seat Great Hall is the centerpiece of a 166,000‑square‑foot facility that also includes rehearsal spaces and support amenities that accommodate a wide range of artistic disciplines.

Its Valera Lobby levels, courtyard, rooftop terrace, Porter Pavilion, and art gallery offer various gathering spaces. The facility also houses several spaces managed by the Mike Curb College and the University, including a 178‑seat black box theater, CSUN’s largest lecture hall, four theatre training labs, and CSUN’s nationally acclaimed public radio station, 88.5 The SoCal Sound. In addition to the Soraya Great Hall, Soraya staff also manage the separate 483‑seat Plaza del Sol performance venue located within the University Student Union.

California State University, Northridge (CSUN) is one of the largest universities within the 22‑campus California State University System—the largest public higher education system in the world. CSUN serves nearly 40,000 students annually across its 353 acres and 91 facilities, and its students reflect the rich diversity of the San Fernando Valley’s 2 million residents. CSUN counts a number of distinguished, business, arts, political and cultural leaders among its more than 400,000 CSUN alumni.

The campus includes nine colleges and many cultural resources for faculty, staff, and students, including the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication, which offers robust performing arts, fine arts, and media programs and includes performance, rehearsal, and exhibit spaces, as well as the College of Health and Human Development, which contains several Dance spaces. CSUN has embarked on an era of remarkable growth, with nearly half a billion dollars and 300,000 square feet of capital projects either recently completed or in progress…