Throughout the spring semester, students in the SF State creative arts department have danced their hearts out, sung at the top of their lungs, paid tribute to the memory of a beloved faculty member and celebrated the milestone birthday of another.

The College of Creative Arts has offered over a hundred performances, exhibits, recitals, and other events this year. "I have been repeatedly surprised by the sophistication of our students," said Kurt Daw, who is finishing up his first year as Dean of Creative Arts.

One of this semester's performances that stood out in Daw's mind was the SF State chamber singers' performance at the Conservatory of Music.

"The program was fiendishly difficult contemporary music and they were performing on the home turf of a renowned music school, yet they sang liked seasoned professionals," Daw said. "I was blown away, and I realized we have one of the top chamber choirs in America."

The music students weren't the only creative arts students who performed well this semester. The theater department put on four full-scale productions, including an opera and Tennessee Williams' Pulitzer prize-winning classic "A Streetcar Named Desire."

"I thought the acting in all the shows this semester was phenomenal and sets were pretty beautiful, especially the 'Streetcar' set," said theater student Gabrielle Yedid.

Two of this semester's performances were bittersweet for the College of Creative Arts. "Indelible Memories" and "ImprovisAsians" were both staged in honor of SF State dance lecturer of 26 years, Alicia Pierce, who lost her battle with breast cancer in December 2008.

The dance department continued to live by her motto, "dance from the inside out," throughout the spring semester, according to dance faculty.

"[Pierce] was my girlfriend, my colleague, my Creole sister from New Orleans... but most of all, she was a dancer," said dance lecturer Albirda Rose, a long-time friend of Pierce.

Outstanding veteran faculty members were also honored this semester. The college honored a faculty member, music lecturer William Corbett-Jones, who has put in more than four decades of work at SF State, with a birthday celebration concert. Students, faculty, and family attended the concert to help celebrate Corbett-Jones' eightieth birthday.

The semester may be nearing an end, but the Creative Arts department isn't done entertaining audiences just yet. Faculty pianists Victoria Neve and Inara Morgenstern will be performing at the Pre-Exam Happy concert on Friday May 15 at 1 p.m. in Knuth Hall for any students interested in a little bit of culture and one more excuse to put off studying for a little longer.