Sofia is a drummer and composer from the Boston, MA area. In high school, her music teacher saw her passion for music and recommended her to a program at Berklee College of Music. There, Sofia was placed into an ensemble with Grammy Award Winning Artist Esperanza Spalding, who encouraged Sofia to apply to Berklee College of Music.
After graduating from Berklee in 2011, she worked as a drummer in Boston. In 2012, she moved to Nashville, where her resume continued to grow. In 2012, she performed at Bonnaroo with HuDost, and recorded on their album with Jon Anderson from Yes on the song “Omega.” In 2013, Sofia performed with The Heart and Soul Band for the Poretta Soul Festival in Italy and earned praise from Tony Rounce of Ace Records who said, “There isn’t enough time in the world to do full justice to the qualities of every member of H&S, but it would be wrong not to spotlight the unit’s brilliant drummer Sofia, whose drive and precision across 5-6 hours behind her kit each night put her in a class with any of the world’s great soul drummers, from Al Jackson Jr., Howard Grimes and Roger Hawkins to Benny Benjamin, James Gadson and beyond.”
After this, Sofia continued to perform, but she also wanted to give back and share her knowledge with students, so she focused on teaching private lessons. In 2014, she contracted with Zildjian and Vic Firth as an artist and educator. In 2016, she was inspired to lead her own group, The Sofia Goodman Group, and they have since performed Sofia’s compositions at festivals in the U.S. The group released their debut album in 2018, which was nominated for Best Jazz Album by The Nashville Industry Music Awards in 2019. In 2020, Sofia was nominated by NIMA as Best Jazz Instrumentalist.
In 2021, she graduated from Belmont School of Music with a Master’s in Composition and won the Pathways to Jazz Grant to help her complete her next album. As well, Sofia is a fellow in bespoken, a program which provides mentorship to women in the music industry. She currently works with Jazz Empowers, an after-school program that provides music education to underserved schools.
After graduating from Berklee in 2011, she worked as a drummer in Boston. In 2012, she moved to Nashville, where her resume continued to grow. In 2012, she performed at Bonnaroo with HuDost, and recorded on their album with Jon Anderson from Yes on the song “Omega.” In 2013, Sofia performed with The Heart and Soul Band for the Poretta Soul Festival in Italy and earned praise from Tony Rounce of Ace Records who said, “There isn’t enough time in the world to do full justice to the qualities of every member of H&S, but it would be wrong not to spotlight the unit’s brilliant drummer Sofia, whose drive and precision across 5-6 hours behind her kit each night put her in a class with any of the world’s great soul drummers, from Al Jackson Jr., Howard Grimes and Roger Hawkins to Benny Benjamin, James Gadson and beyond.”
After this, Sofia continued to perform, but she also wanted to give back and share her knowledge with students, so she focused on teaching private lessons. In 2014, she contracted with Zildjian and Vic Firth as an artist and educator. In 2016, she was inspired to lead her own group, The Sofia Goodman Group, and they have since performed Sofia’s compositions at festivals in the U.S. The group released their debut album in 2018, which was nominated for Best Jazz Album by The Nashville Industry Music Awards in 2019. In 2020, Sofia was nominated by NIMA as Best Jazz Instrumentalist.
In 2021, she graduated from Belmont School of Music with a Master’s in Composition and won the Pathways to Jazz Grant to help her complete her next album. As well, Sofia is a fellow in bespoken, a program which provides mentorship to women in the music industry. She currently works with Jazz Empowers, an after-school program that provides music education to underserved schools.