Jeane Goforth: CEO and Founder:
Jeane graduated first in her class in Geological Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines in 1981. She came to Birmingham as a petroleum engineer with Sonat, now El Paso, in 1985 and then became a stay-at-home mom when Molly was born in 1988. When her children were small, she had a sewing business out of her home, specializing in costumes and doll clothes. She worked overnight stocking laundry detergent at WalMart to buy Molly's first cello. She was active as a volunteer in the Music Opportunity Program and the ASFA music department. She served on the ASFA PTSO board for several years as hospitality chair. She eventually worked at ASFA as the administrative assistant for the Music Opportunity Program.
Jeane's daughter, Molly, is the principal cellist of the Baton Rouge Symphony and is a frequent performer of chamber music with the Baton Rouge-based group Magnolia Strings. She received her degree as aa cello performance major at the University of Louisville. She graduated from the Alabama School of Fine Arts, is a National Merit Scholar, has participated in the Aspen Music Festival, the National Festival Orchestra, and appeared on the public radio program 'From the Top'. Molly is her inspiration. Jeane believes every child should have that opportunity.
Wanting to recreate for other children the experience of diversity and harmony that Molly had in youth orchestra, she joined with Nick Lacanski to form the Metropolitan Youth Orchestras of Central Alabama in June of 2007. Inspired by the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra and the El Sistema program of Venezuela, they determined to offer low-cost tuition music lessons to underserved children in Birmingham, beginning at Hill Elementary School and on Southside in February, 2008. To facilitate this, she donated her retirement funds to MYOCA to begin Scrollworks. Jeane's dream is to see youth orchestras with a rainbow of faces representing our community to the world. Let the world think of music when it thinks of Birmingham.
Dane Lawley: Education Director
Dane is a retired educator with over 44 years of experience teaching music to all ages. He is certified in grades K-12 with a Bachelors of Music Education degree from Troy State University. He has also done post graduate studies at the University of Montevallo and taught Distance Learning through the University of Alabama. His teaching duties included concert band, marching band, guitar and general music.
He was the Director of Instrumental Music as well as the Fine Arts Department Chairman at Chelsea High School in Shelby County for 38 years before retiring in 2016. Prior to his retirement he was the Chairman of the Shelby County Band Directors' Association for 25 years. Part of his responsibilities as chairmen included coordinating the Shelby County Honor Band Festival and the related tryouts for the Honor Band. Dane is the former choir director at New Life Assembly of God in Westover, Alabama and he presently plays bass guitar on the praise and worship team. Dane is currently an adjunct instructor teaching music classes/lessons at several public schools in the Birmingham metropolitan area.
He is also the Educational Director at Scrollworks which is a part of the Metropolitan Youth Orchestras of Central Alabama in Birmingham, Alabama and teaches instrument lessons, guitar class and conducts the Chamber Winds. His present music teaching duties also include teaching music classes at the Metropolitan Church of God located in Birmingham, Alabama. Dane's professional affiliations include National Association of Music Educators,
Alabama Educators Association, Alabama Bandmasters Association, Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Fraternity and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity.
Sara Peacock: Music Director
Sara Peacock is an alumnus of the University of Alabama at Birmingham where she earned a B.A. in Music. She led the Marching Blazers as Drum Major from 2006-2009, conducted the Blazer Band, and performed with the UAB Wind Symphony. Her main performance instrument is flute. Additionally, she participated in and led the Eta Lambda chapter of Tau Beta Sigma.
Sara began working as a private lesson and ensemble teacher with Scrollworks teaching winds and recorder in 2012. She started conducting the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra in 2014 and became the Music Director in 2017. This has led to many wonderful opportunities to learn from Jeane Goforth, the students and parents of Scrollworks, and the networks of PlayUSA/Carnegie Mellon and VSA/Kennedy Center. She is an advocate for music for all and hopes to create a fun and engaging environment to learn music and life skills.
Sara is married and lives with her husband, Justin, and two adorable dogs, Tiva and Bella. She works part-time as a waitress at her mom's restaurant, The Kitchen, and conducts the Open A's, a local adult string ensemble.
