The orchestra was co-founded by two accomplished music educators, Shawn Goodman and Steve Goodman.
Shawn Goodman
Woodwind specialist, Shawn Goodman, is the Conductor and President of the Symphonic Youth Orchestra of Greater Indianapolis. While attending Center Grove High School in Greenwood, Indiana, Shawn earned 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. Upon graduation, she received the School of Music Dean's Scholarship to attend Indiana University in Bloomington as a jazz-clarinet performance major, (1999-2001). In 2000, she became President of IU's chapter of the International Association of Jazz Educators. Shawn placed runner-up in the Sisters-in-Jazz International Collegiate Competition her sophomore year.
In 2005, Shawn co-founded the Honey Creek Youth Chamber Orchestra and was the Vice-President and Conductor for that group through 2007. Her name was published in Who's Who in Women in Business (2006). While attending the University of Indianapolis, she earned first chair clarinet in the IMEA Indiana All-State Intercollegiate Honor Band (2006), and was chosen to be the recipient of the U-Indy Jazz Award Scholarship (2006 & '07) and the Susan Blackwell Music Education Scholarship, as well as the Indianapolis Jazz Foundation Education Grant (2006 & '07). In 2008, she earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Indianapolis (Instrumental and General K-12) with a concentration in Jazz Studies.
Shawn has been a featured soloist with various ensembles and on various recordings. She was featured at the Indy Jazz Fest with the Indiana School for the Blind in 1999 and 2000, and gave a solo performance at the 2007 Indianapolis Jazz Foundation's Holiday Showcase. In 2008, she was a featured guest artist with the Taylor University Jazz Ensemble, and was also a featured artist in a performance and panel discussion entitled "The History of Women in Jazz," sponsored by Bloomington Arts Week in 2009. Shawn is a featured soloist on the Wave Mechanics Union album (2008), as well as the soon-to-be-released solo album by Jon Anderson, the lead singer of the Classic Rock band, Yes. The Indianapolis Star proclaimed Shawn a "Rising Star of Indy Jazz", and featured her in March of 2010 as a "Woman of Indy Jazz". Shawn was profiled in Nuvo magazine in September of 2011 as a featured Indy jazz artist.
Shawn currently adjudicates for the ISSMA Solo & Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, and Band & Orchestra Organizational Contests, and is a clinician for the IMEA Non-Competitive Music Festivals. She co-leads and perform regularly with the Impossible Jazz Collaboration jazz quintet, and subs for the Indianapolis Jazz Orchestra, the Booth-Tarkington Civic Theatre Orchestra, and the Lafayette Symphony.
Shawn is currently the Secretary and Treasurer of the Indiana Jazz Educators Association, and is currently completing a Graduate Assistantship with Dr. Robert Grechesky while finishing a Master of Music degree in Clarinet Performance at Butler University, which she will complete in May of 2012.
Steve Goodman
Violinist Steve Goodman is the Vice-President, Artistic Director, and Co-Founder of the Symphonic Youth Orchestra of Greater Indianapolis. Steve 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.
Steve has also been 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 presented two workshops to MENSA students and parents, entitled "Music and Giftedness" in 2009 & 2010. Steve was profiled in Nuvo magazine in September of 2011 as a featured Indy jazz artist.
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 was a member of the Deep Fryed Acoustiblasters and recorded two albums with that group, their self-titled album in 2009, and their Indy Folk Series Live album in 2011. Steve is the Director of Orchestra and Jazz Ensembles at Cathedral High School. He also teaches private violin lessons, classes, and sectionals for Indianapolis area schools, adjudicates for the ISSMA Solo & Ensemble District and State Competitions, and is a clinician for the IMEA Non-Competitive Band and Orchestra festivals. Steve is the Principal First Violin for the Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre Orchestra, and co-leads the Impossible Jazz Collaboration jazz quintet.