Meet Our

Personnel Manager

Jay Good

Originally from Long Beach, then Los Gatos, California, Jay Good majored in Music Management/Business at the University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music in Stockton. He began his career with the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra in Los Angeles as Orchestra Manager. He then moved to Roanoke, Virginia where he was the Personnel Manager and Librarian for the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, before moving to New York in 1995. There he was the Production Manager for the American Symphony Orchestra, and later the Operations Manager of the New York Philharmonic. Highlights during his time at the NYP include:

  • Producing the semi-staged concert production of Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream

  • Producing the NYP’s Concerts in the Parks Series

  • Co-producing their semi-staged concert production of Bernstein’s Candide which was recorded for a PBS broadcast, earning Jay an Emmy nomination as Co-Producer

In 2006, Jay left New York to become the General Manager of The Phoenix Symphony, overseeing the operations, personnel, artistic, education, and marketing departments of the organization. Highlights during this tenure include:

  • Producing the semi-staged opera concert performance of Hansel and Gretel

  • Directing the Music Alive! Residency that was in preparation for the world premiere performance of a full-length oratorio Enemy Slayer: A Navajo Oratorio by composer Mark Grey

Jay began his production/artistic management business in 2010 and was first contracted by Arizona Musicfest, where he is currently their Director of Concert Operations. Each year, he contracts an all-star Festival Orchestra and oversees a production team for 40 concerts each season. The Grammy-award winning choir, Phoenix Chorale, also contracted him during that time and he continues to serve as their Artistic Operations Manager. 

Jay is an active cellist performing around the Phoenix-Metro area, with various orchestras and chamber ensembles. His latest favorite opportunity was as solo cellist in the Dan Forrest work The Sun never says, which he performed in the fall of 2023. He recorded the piece in January of 2024, and the CD will be released in Fall of 2024.

He resides in Phoenix with his wife, Rita Litchfield-Good, a mezzo-soprano and staff member at Arizona Musicfest. Their daughter Elizabeth and her husband, Noah, recently relocated to Cincinnati, Ohio. Their son, Nikolas, is majoring in Technical Theater and Design at Arizona State University. When not working production or performing, Jay enjoys time with family, hiking, biking, and exploring new places and possibilities.