Stephanie Childress, conductor

Stephanie Childress is making her mark as a conductor of remarkable skill and has been likened to “other notable young conductors of the past such as Sir John Eliot Gardiner and Sir Simon Rattle” (Varsity). Her musicianship and command of a broad scope of repertoire has led to engagements with symphony orchestras and opera houses across the international stage.

Ms. Childress’ 2022-23 season began with her Glyndebourne Festival debut conducting The Marriage of Figaro at home in Lewes and on tour. Alongside the opera production, she also conducted the Glyndebourne Festival orchestra and chorus for performances of Mozart’s Requiem.

Returning to St. Louis to continue her position as Assistant Conductor of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra—a role she has held since 2020—Ms. Childress led New Year’s Eve concerts, subscription weeks and tour with the orchestra across Europe. In addition, she will continue her duties as Music Director of the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra.

Ms. Childress’ 2022-23 season also includes debuts with the Orchestre national d’Ile-de-France, Konzerthaus Orchester Berlin and New World Symphony, as well as returns to the North Carolina Symphony and Montpellier following the success of debuts last season.

Ms. Childress was awarded the second prize of the inaugural La Maestra conducting competition in 2020, and since then has led some of the top orchestras in France, including the Orchestre de Paris, Paris Mozart Orchestra, Orchestre de chambre de Paris and Opera et Orchestre national de Montpellier. In previous seasons she has also made several exciting appearances with U.K. orchestras, including conducting debuts with the London Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic and London Mozart Players.

Ms. Childress has attended masterclasses with esteemed conductors such as Sir Mark Elder, Paavo Jarvi, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Sian Edwards, Nicolas Pasquet and Johannes Schlaefli, and most recently took part in the Conducting Academie of the Aix-en-Provence Festival.

A passionate advocate of amplifying the role of music within today’s world, Ms. Childress has previously undertaken artistic residence at the Villa Albertine, a network for arts and ideas spanning France and the United States. As part of her residence, she assisted Esa-Pekka Salonen and the San Francisco Symphony as well as observed rehearsals with the Atlanta, Los Angeles and Chicago symphonies. As of 2022, she is also a Young Leader of the Franco-British Young Leaders’ Program, created by the Franco-British Council to further cooperation across both sides of the Channel. She is an active supporter of the Tri-borough Music Hub, an award-winning organization for music education, and has taken part in a number of programs with the association, including leading the junior string ensemble at an Artists for Inclusivity event and speaking at the Youth Music Conference 2020 held at the Royal College of Music. She has also appeared on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune.

Ian Barnett, violin

Eighteen-year-old violinist and composer Ian Barnett is a senior at Ransom Everglades High School. He began playing the violin at age four and currently studies with Misha Vitenson and Elizabeth Faidley. He has performed three times as soloist with the Alhambra Orchestra and three times with the Greater Miami Youth Symphony, as a winner of its annual Concerto Competition. He is a two-time semi-finalist for the Sphinx Competition and a finalist for the Hilton Head Concerto Competition. He has been invited to perform at various Miami Heat Games, playing his own rendition of the National Anthem, and has been featured in the PBS program, Kids Stew. Mr. Barnett has been concertmaster for the Florida All-State Orchestra and Greater Miami Youth Symphony. He was recently named a National YoungArts Merit Winner and nominated for a Silver Knight Award in the Music/Dance Category.

As a composer, Mr. Barnett has won prizes for his orchestral, chamber and piano pieces, some of which have been performed by professional musicians. These include the YCP in Washington State, Salome 2017 Young Artist Composition Competition in New York, Miami Conservatory of Music Composition Competition and Vienna International Music Competition. He has twice been named a winner for the National Young Composers Challenge, having his pieces performed by members of the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra. Besides music, he enjoys playing tennis.

Chad Goodman, conductor

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).

As the Conducting Fellow of the New World Symphony, Mr. Goodman conducts on subscription, education, family and holiday programs. 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 Mr. 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.

Mr. Goodman's 2022-23 Season will include debut appearances with the Elgin Symphony, Baton Rouge Symphony, Greensboro Symphony and San Francisco Chamber Orchestra.

As Founder and Artistic Director of Elevate Ensemble, Mr. 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 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.

Mr. Goodman has previously served as Conducting Fellow of Festival Napa Valley, Music Director of the Contra Costa Chamber Orchestra, Conducting Fellow of the Atlantic Music Festival, and 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?”

Mr. 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.

2023 Side-by-Side Participants

The students performing tonight represent the following schools and programs: Alexander. W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, American Heritage Palm Beach, American Heritage Broward, Coral Reef Senior High, Dillard Center for the Arts, Homeschool, New World School of the Arts, North Broward Preparatory School, Ransom Everglades High School, School for Advanced Studies – South, Suncoast Community High School and The King’s Academy.

Violin
Ian Barnett
Gabriel Figueroa
Ayra Karlin
Daisy Li
Leonardo Rincon
Aaliyah Waldron              
Christina Waldron
David Xiao          
Catherine Zhao

Viola
Sofia Arcila
Jeffrey Bai
Gianna Beckford
Branden Cabrera
Raul Rodriguez 

Cello
Nathaniel Jones
Sofia Manganiotis
Jorge Gabe Rodriguez
Brian Rubio
David Turkel      

Bass
Brandon Garcia
Kevin Porter

Flute
Kara Ravaschieri

Clarinet
Nihar Bhavsar

Bassoon
Shyam Narayanan

Horn
Guilherme Cooper
Arturo Dekle
Nathan Goldin
Matthew Rogers

Percussion
Samuel Cruz

2023 Side-by-Side Concerto Competition Winners

FIRST PLACE: Ian Barnett, violin

SECOND PLACE: Leonardo Rincon, violin