A native of Bulgaria, bassoonist Valentin Martchev joined the San Diego Symphony in 2001 as acting principal bassoonist, and was appointed principal bassoon in 2004. Prior to coming to San Diego, he was principal bassoon of the Charlottesville Symphony Orchestra, and was a member of the performance faculty at the University of Virginia from 1998 to 2001. His festival performances include Tanglewood, Mainly Mozart and Marlboro. He is on the faculty of SDSU and plays on a 1985 Heckel Biebrich.