The orchestra was co-founded by two accomplished music educators, Shawn Goodman and Steve Goodman.
Shawn Goodman
Shawn Goodman received the School of Music Dean's Scholarship to attend Indiana University in Bloomington as a jazz-clarinet performance major, (1999-2001). In 2000, Shawn became President of the school's chapter of the International Association of Jazz Educators.
She placed runner-up in the Sisters-in-Jazz International Collegiate Competition her sophomore year. She has taught woodwind lessons for 14 years. Her name was published in Who's Who in Women in Business (2006). Shawn was chosen to be the recipient of the prestigious UIndy Jazz Award Scholarship (2006 and 2007) and the Susan Blackwell Music Education Scholarship, as well as the Indianapolis Jazz Foundation Education Grant (2007). She is a member of the National Association for Music Education (MENC), the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, and Kappa Delta Pi, the International Honor Society in Education. Shawn gave a solo performance at the 2007 Indianapolis Jazz Foundation's Holiday Showcase in which Freddie Hubbard was inducted into the IJF Hall of Fame. In 2005, Shawn co-founded the Honey Creek Youth Chamber Orchestra and was the Vice-President and Conductor forthat group through 2007.
Shawn earned first chair clarinet in the IMEA Indiana All-State Intercollegiate Honor Band (2006) and first chair clarinet in the IBA Indiana All-State High School Honor Band (1997, 1998, & 1999). She won the GIYS student concerto competition in 1997 and was a member of the IMEA All-State High School Jazz Ensemble in 1999. Shawn graduated from the University of Indianapolis with a Bachelors Degree in Music Education (Instrumental K-12) and a Concentration in Jazz Studies.
She adjudicates for the ISSMA Solo & Ensemble Competitions, Jazz Festivals, and Band & Orchestra Festivals. She subs for the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra, and performed as the Featured Guest Artist in April of 2008 with the Taylor University Jazz Ensemble. Shawn is currently the Orchestra Director and Assistant Director of Bands at Cathedral High School, co-leader of the Impossible Jazz Collaboration (a modernist jazz quintet), a freelance woodwind doubler, and the Conductor, President, and Co-Founder of the Symphonic Youth Orchestra of Greater Indianapolis.
Steve Goodman
Violinist Steve Goodman studied violin at the Interlochen International Arts Academy at the University of Michigan. He has toured Europe extensively performing with the Italian/ French folk group Al Pesto, the jazz quartet PaGo LiBre, and experimental group Creative Works Orchestra.
Also involved in writing music for theater and performance art, he co-wrote music for the theater piece Sri-Salami for the Tamil theatre group Theater Maralam, which won Switzerland's "Vesta AG" culture prize for Theatre and Music in 1989. Steve is a recipient of an Individual Artist Grant from the Indiana Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2001 he produced his first solo album, "Music From a Man in a Hole- Part 1, Discovery", which was recorded in Marengo Cave, a United States National Landmark. The story was featured in a television special report on WTHR 13 entitled "Call of a Caveman".
Steve was on the Board of Directors for the Honey Creek Youth Chamber Orchestra in 2007, where he also served as an adjunct String-Section Coach. Steve currently teaches violin lessons, classes, and sectionals for Indianapolis area schools, including Ben Davis Schools and Cathedral High School. He also adjudicates for the ISSMA Solo & Ensemble Competitions. In addition to co-leading the Impossible Jazz Collaboration, a modernist jazz quintet, and performing with the Americana Band, Deep Fryed Acoustiblasters, Steve is currently the Vice-President, Artistic Director, and Co-Founder of the Symphonic Youth Orchestra of Greater Indianapolis.