Program Information
JIMMY LÓPEZ | Fiesta!
TCHAIKOVSKY | Violin Concerto
SIBELIUS | Symphony No. 5
Chad Goodman, conductor
Samuel Vargas, violin
Ticket Information
Prices: Gold $65 / Red $42 / Green $20
Student tickets $10
Call and ask about our Free Youth Tickets for children ages 17 and under
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Chad Goodman has received widespread praise for thrilling conducting that combines “precision, agility and fervor” and for displaying the “pitch perfect combination of abandon and subtlety” (South Florida Classical Review).
The 2023/24 season marked Goodman’s inaugural year as Music Director of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra—only the fifth leader in the orchestra’s prestigious seven-decade history. Goodman also serves as Artistic Director of IlluminArts, Miami’s art song and chamber music concert series. In this role, he curates site-specific classical music programs in collaboration with the leading museums, art galleries, and historic venues of Miami.Goodman made his Minnesota Orchestra subscription debut in June 2024, stepping in on short notice to lead the season finale program featuring works by Smyth, Poulenc, and Tchaikovsky.
From 2019 to 2023, he was the Conducting Fellow of the New World Symphony, where he was the assistant conductor to Michael Tilson Thomas. In addition to leading the orchestra in more than fifty performances, Goodman created the educational program “SPARK: How Composers Find Inspiration,” which blended engaging audience participation with captivating light design and videography.
Goodman has served as an Assistant Conductor to the San Francisco Symphony, working alongside Michael Tilson Thomas, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Manfred Honeck, Daniel Harding, Elim Chan, Simone Young, and James Gaffigan, among others. He has recently made debuts with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, Greensboro Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, and Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de Puebla (OSEP).
As Founder and Artistic Director of Elevate Ensemble, Goodman’s ambitious vision for concert programming resulted in the pairing of music from San Francisco 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 new works.
Goodman also leads workshops that teach young musicians the business skills needed to successfully navigate the music world. Forbes praised the conductor’s bold strides both on and off stage and hailed him as “An entrepreneur bringing innovation to classical music.” Last year, he published the book 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 and Alasdair Neale. -
Violinist Samuel Vargas Teixeira has received wide recognition for his powerful artistry and awards including First Prize of the Sphinx Competition (2021), Yamaha Young Performing Artist (2019), Grand Prize of the Jefferson Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition (2019), First Prize in Atlanta’s GA Philharmonic Competition (2017), and Concertmaster Ambassador of the United Nations (2014).
Vargas holds the Pin Artistic Merits from “City Key of Prince George” and “Central Bank in Canada,” and has performed on tours in 40 countries, collaborating with acclaimed artists like Gustavo Dudamel, Simon Rattle, Daniel Barenboim, Claudio Abbado, and Christian Vasquez.
Vargas began his violinistic journey through Venezuela’s El Sistema Program. In 2017 Samuel won the prestigious Woodruff Award enabling him to study with his current mentor and professor Sergiu Schwartz at the Schwob School of Music at CSU.
He is the founder and president of the Samuel Vargas International Music Foundation, an organization which is enriching communities and society through the power of classical music, emphasizing a holistic approach to music education supporting students in all areas of studies and well-being. Through his passionate work and entrepreneurship, he has founded 8 active Venezuelan chamber orchestras and currently mentor young musicians in the US and South America.