YOUNG MUSICIAN KNOWS THE SCORE : JAZZ LEGEND'S NIECE PLAYS VIOLIN.

Byline: Victoria Giraud

Elise Goodman, 16, was given her first violin when she was 2-1/2. At 7, she knew she wanted to be a violin soloist.

Playing violin comes naturally in the Goodman household of Thousand Oaks. Elise's mother, Diana Ray Goodman, plays the violin professionally and has been a violin teacher for many years. Elise's sister, Chelain, almost 13, and brother, David, 6, also play. Musical talent runs in the family - most famously in Elise's great-uncle, jazz band leader-clarinetist Benny Goodman.

In their early childhoods, Elise, a junior at Thousand Oaks High School, and her siblings just took it for granted that everyone was a musician.

``We thought everyone played violin,'' said Elise about childhood impressions formed because of their mother's steady stream of violin students.

``I was pretty serious,'' Elise admitted, even about her first violin piece, ``Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.'' When she was 5, her mother was teaching her the Suzuki method , which Diana describes as a ``joyous method that involves kids and parents.''

By 8, Elise was offered solo opportunities with the Conejo Youth Symphony, and she was playing at Music Teachers of California conventions. As her talent developed, her schedule got busier.

For about seven years, she also participated in gymnastics and was a member of the California Dance Theatre in Agoura Hills. ``I like doing everything,'' Elise explained. She soon realized there wasn't time for everything concurrently, so she started seriously concentrating on the violin.

Elise has been concertmaster twice with the Disney Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra, with the performance televised on the Disney Channel. She performed with oboist Jeffrey Paul II at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza when she was 13, and she will solo with the New West Symphony at the Plaza on Jan. 25. Elise also plays regularly with the Colburn Chamber Orchestra led by Jung-Ho Pak.

Her busy schedule of lessons, practice and performances leaves her little time for friends her own age, so Elise enjoyed being in the trio that played for the Young Artists Ensemble production of ``Oliver'' in December. ``My sister (who played in the ensemble cast as an orphan and Fagin's boy) talked me into it, and I had so much fun,'' Elise declared.

Playing violin demands devotion to practice. But Elise said, ``You have to have a plan and know what you want to get done. Concentrate, or it doesn't do you any good.''

Elise practices about four hours a day - occasionally, in an unusual place. ``Today I was practicing in the bathroom,'' she said, and she laughed. ``The acoustics are good. I was working on my bow position, and the mirror's really big.''

Once or twice a week, Elise studies with Robert Lipsett at the Colburn School for the Performing Arts in Los Angeles. On Wednesdays, she practices with several other youngsters in Lipsett's master class. To prepare for her solos at the Civic Arts Plaza in January, she will practice with her best friend, accomplished violinist Isabella Lappi, before a private audience.

``You can see the parts that go well,'' Elise explained about the duo performances. ``You get more comfortable each time you play (a piece).''

Playing has its challenging moments. On a chilly night in June, she played with the Disney Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl and had to perform a couple of solos. ``My hands were so cold, my joints hurt. I couldn't feel the finger board,'' Elise said. She was given a plastic heating bag and told to shake it to provide warmth for her hands. The bag burst, sending ``black powdery stuff all over the place,'' Elise said, but the show went on before an audience of 10,000.

Asked which composer is the most difficult for violin, Elise didn't hesitate. ``Paganini is the hardest you can possibly get. They're really pretty, but his `24 Caprices' are meant to drive you crazy.''

Elise's father plays the piano, and she enjoys all sorts of music - about any except rap and country. ``I'm pretty sensitive to loud sounds.'' Her tastes range from the music of The Cranberries to Spanish classical music and Andrew Lloyd Webber's ``Evita'' songs.

After high school, Elise says she probably will stay in Southern California - ``I don't do well in cold weather'' - and study at the University of Southern California, where Lipsett teaches.

Whatever the circumstances, however, Elise intends to continue performing as a violin soloist. ``I totally enjoy it,'' she said.

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Photo

Photo: Elise Goodman, 16, plays the violin at her home. The great-niece of Benny Goodman has been playing since she was 2.

Tina Gerson/Daily News