I became a mental performance consultant because I watched too many gifted performers hit a ceiling that had nothing to do with talent.

And I knew, from two decades inside music education, that the ceiling was removable.

The Story

I spent over 2 decades as a music educator, building a pipeline of performers from their first lessons through elite youth orchestra placement. I watched students who were technically gifted — students who had put in every hour, who had every reason to succeed — struggle in auditions and performances in ways that had nothing to do with what they knew or how well they'd prepared.

What I was watching was a mental performance gap. And what struck me, year after year, was how little of our training infrastructure was designed to address it.

I began studying the science and practice of mental performance — drawing on sport psychology, performance psychology, identity theory, and attentional research — and applying what I was learning directly to my students. The results were meaningful and consistent. Students who had been inconsistent became reliable. Students who had been afraid of high-stakes moments started seeking them out. The work was real.

PsychMaestro Consulting is the formal expression of that work. It is the system I wish had existed when I was a young performer, and the resource I am committed to making available to the next generation of artists — before the ceiling becomes a wall.

The background behind the work.

EDUCATION & CERTIFICATION

•       M.S. in Performance, Sport, and Exercise Psychology — University of Illinois Chicago (in progress)

•       M.M. in Clarinet Performance and Literature, with Honors — Northwestern University, Bienen School of Music

•       B.M. in Music Education — Georgia State University

•       Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) — Candidate, Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP)

NOTABLE CONDUCTING ENGAGEMENTS

•       Invited Conductor — Chicago Symphony Orchestra Youth in Music Festival, featuring the Chicago Civic Orchestra(April 2025; re-invited 2026)

•       Principal Guest Conductor — Tennessee Valley Music Festival Orchestra (2026, 2024)

•       Guest Conductor — Alabama All-State Festival Orchestra, highest ensemble level (2023)

•       Conductor, Merit Philharmonic Orchestra & Symphonic Band — Alice S. Pfaelzer Tuition-Free Conservatory, Merit School of Music, Chicago (2012–Present)

•       Assistant Conductor — Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras, two international concert tours:

Baltic Sea: Stockholm (Sweden) · Helsinki (Finland) · Tallinn (Estonia) · St. Petersburg (Russia)

Central Europe: Leipzig & Berlin (Germany) · Vienna (Austria) · Prague (Czech Republic)

PROFESSIONAL ROLES & AFFILIATIONS

•       Educational Consultant — Third Coast Percussion, Grammy Award-winning ensemble, Chicago (2020–Present)

•       Board Member — Latitude 49 (latitude49music.com) (2021–Present)

•       Faculty — Merit School of Music, Chicago — Conservatory conducting & citywide in-school programs & (2012–Present)

AS A PERFORMER

•       Performer with Third Coast Percussion — Grant Park Music Festival, Chicago (2015 & 2017)

•       Principal Clarinet — Northshore Concert Band (2014–2016)

•       Illinois Symphony Orchestra — Clarinet / Bass Clarinet (2014)

•       Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition — Senior Division Quarterfinalist (Second City Winds) (2017)

•       Selmer Clarinet Academy & Solo Competition — Third Prize (2017)

•       Northwestern University — Featured Soloist; Honors Chamber Recital (2012)

RECOGNITION

•       Nominated, Crain’s Chicago Business Rising Stars — 40 Under 40 (2018)

Joint nomination by Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras and Merit School of Music

AS FEATURED IN

Chicago Sun-Times  —  November 2025

In November 2025, the Chicago Sun-Times featured Steven Gooden in a piece on Merit School of Music’s work building a culture of inclusion for Chicago’s young performers.

“I really believe that every person on the planet has some sort of connection to music. And if we can offer them that opportunity to learn life skills and learn musical skills, it’s going to make a pretty big impact for the rest of their life.”

— Steven Gooden, Chicago Sun-Times, November 2025

Studies consistently find that roughly one in four orchestral musicians rely on beta blockers to manage performance anxiety. Most of them were never taught any alternative.

I believe that is a preventable problem — and that it starts with the students in our programs right now.

My mission is simple: build the mental performance infrastructure that every serious performing artist deserves, early enough to matter. Not after the career is struggling. Before the wall ever appears.

What it’s actually like to work together.

I work with genuine attention. Every session starts with where you actually are — not where a curriculum says we should be.

I am not a cheerleader and I am not a therapist. I am a practitioner who takes the inner lives of performers seriously, teaches real and actionable skills, and stays in the work with you until those skills are yours. People describe me as grounding, focused, and direct — and they tell me the work stays with them in ways that surprise them.

I believe every serious performer has more range than they currently have access to. My job is to help you access it.

If any of this resonates — let’s talk.

The first conversation is yours — a chance to talk through where you are and whether this work makes sense for you right now. No commitment, no pressure.