Chad Goodman

2021 Joel Revzen Conducting Fellow

With a flair for inventive programming and a bold presence on stage and in the community, Chad Goodman has been praised for "bringing innovation to classical music" (Forbes). In 2021, he was the first-ever recipient of Festival Napa Valley's Joel Revzen Conducting Fellowship. 

As the Conducting Fellow of the New World Symphony, Goodman has appeared on twenty programs, ranging from subscription concerts to education, family, and holiday shows. His program, “SPARK: How Composers Find Inspiration,” blended captivating light design and videography with engaging audience participation to explore how a composition is created and brought to life by an orchestra.

Since 2018, Goodman has served as an Assistant Conductor to the San Francisco Symphony, assisting Esa-Pekka Salonen, Manfred Honeck, Daniel Harding, Pablo Heras-Casado, Simone Young, and James Gaffigan, among others.

As Founder and Artistic Director of Elevate Ensemble, Goodman’s ambitious vision for concert programming resulted in the pairing of music from Bay Area composers with underappreciated gems of the 20th and 21st centuries. Under his leadership, Elevate Ensemble established a Composer-in-Residence program and commissioned fifteen works from Bay Area composers. Elevate also collaborated with photographers, videographers, poets, and culinary artists, bringing new music and vibrant multi-genre experiences to unique venues such as yoga studios, historic Victorian homes, and art studio warehouses.

Goodman has previously served as Music Director of the Contra Costa Chamber Orchestra, Conducting Fellow of the Atlantic Music Festival, and as a rehearsal and cover conductor for the San Francisco Ballet.

In addition to his performing career, he teaches young musicians the business and entrepreneurial skills needed to successfully navigate the world as a working musician in his workshop “You Earned a Music Degree. Now What?”

Goodman holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music and a Master of Music degree from San Francisco State University. His mentors include Michael Tilson Thomas, Alasdair Neale, Cyrus Ginwala, and Martin Seggelke.