Our Philosophy
The key to this business is personal relationships. Suddenly, it was all pretty clear. The answer was fewer clients.from Jerry Maguire
Quality over quantity. Ask not what your students can do for you; ask what you can do for your students. The Jerry Maguire mantra is something that escapes most teaching studios and something we're fortunately in a position to offer.
Hickory Arts is the “un-studio”—a simple, custom, specialized, non-event-driven teaching & production studio dedicated to developing and responding to the needs of artists of all types and ages through a network of working and teaching artists. We’re not, as David Lindberg says, "...a music retail store or a couple of music teachers selling whatever we think we can sell you under the guise of the genre of Rock music." Your needs determine our curriculum. Your ambition determines your development. It's all about you.
How do you advertise without advertising? Get out of the way. You don’t wear our t-shirts. We wear yours. We're here to help artists get from point A to point B, whatever that may be; tiny or big steps; workshops or private sessions; a place to create. You deserve all the credit and glory. It’s all about encouraging that personal motivation and incentive to grow at something meaningful to you. The more transparent we are, the more visible you are. Thank you for sharing your time and talent with us and for the privilege of growing together in skill as artists and arts advocates.
Home is where the “art” is. A personal relationship can strengthen the professional one. We are always willing and eager to personally mentor and produce independent artistry. We like nothing better than to see each artist enjoy and experience their own artistic sovereignty. Studios should only be interested in furthering your career, not the other way around.
There's a very thin line, if any, between who we are and what we do as artists, so please know that supporting/subscribing to anything Hickory Arts and affiliated artists is very much appreciated.
Jeff Hartman is the Artistic Director for Hickory Arts.
"I'm first and foremost a husband and father, committed to family and representing something much larger than myself. I'm a teaching artist, dedicated to investing in and elevating others. I'm an on- and off-stage arts professional who has chosen to commit much of my career to local arts.
I hit the arts running when I was 9, engulfing myself in piano and music. The theatre bug bit me at 12. Across these 39 years, my career and education have taken me to every corner of theatre, music, and film. In 2010, I began my segue from a person of the arts to a person for the arts and helped found Down to Hear Studios in an effort to supplement the artistic needs of developing artists and organizations in Hickory and surrounding areas."
The studio relocated closer to Union Square in 2011 as Hickory Arts. Hickory Arts has since served as a crossroads between area theatres and other organizations over the past decade.
"There are those who can and those who should. I believe we're both. We are dedicated to continuing the tradition and growth of Hickory Arts and its impact on the community. We believe the key to this business is personal relationships. Hickory Arts is synonymous with involvement and provides a safe place for folks to take risks, connect, learn, and transform the lives of those who participate and consume it. People. Community. Experience. Networking. Encouragement. The art of arts is 're-volving' and balancing fresh faces with old—tradition and innovation."
Hickory Arts brings with it over a hundred years of combined experience and education, an educational infrastructure, their network, resources, and a kaleidoscope of perspectives—directors, musicians, composers, authors, marketers, techies, filmmakers, actors, and most importantly, the values and responsibility of family.
A good producer lights a fire under you. A good friend lights the match. A good parent gathers the wood. — Jeff Hartman, Artistic Director
"In a world where we're allowing more and more bar cover bands and bar life to monopolize most live, original music outlets, Hickory Arts reminds us that there's still something eclectic and genuine to look forward to." — Patron
"It's very important for solo artists to get the good, the bad, and the ugly of your work spanning the course of your career out there. It's often painful to listen to, but it's still the sum of who you are now as an artist. Like any photograph, there's a huge difference between our latest single/album and our first. Billy Joel said, "To me, the state of the art is the original album I made. That goes from 'Cold Spring Harbor,' which I can't stand, all the way up to 'River of Dreams.'" — Jeff Hartman
"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should." — David Black, Producer/Engineer
"Hickory Arts. From penning to publishing."
"There was a moment yesterday when every room in Hickory Arts was filled with songwriters collaborating, writing, and creating at Kyle Vincent's songwriting/music industry workshop. I looked out at our tiny, modest sign and felt a great deal of solace." — Jeff Hartman, Artistic Director
“We’re a specialized studio. Compare it this way: going to a general practitioner vs. a medical specialist.”
"The easiest way to define Hickory Arts is that we take performance artists from point A to point B, whatever that may be. That's actors, musicians, singers, songwriters." — Carol Anne Hartman, Managing Director
"There is opportunity everywhere for anyone that knows where to look. But, it requires overcoming a downstream mentality. Generally, people see only the downstream opportunities because that’s where they look. Downstream destinations appear easier to reach. The reality is that most of the best opportunities lie upstream. Paddling upstream might seem to be the harder route when in actuality it can be the easier route. Why? Because most people point their boats downstream. Consequently, there’s less traffic upstream. It’s much easier to compete when the majority has gone in the opposite direction." — Clancy Cross
"The best teachers don't give you the answers. They just point the way and let you make your own choices; your own mistakes. That way, you get all the glory." — Mr. Shue, "Glee"
"A guy will promise you the world and give you nothin', and that's the blues." — Otis Rush
"Until you say something on your own, you're not an artist. You're just a parrot." — from Fox's "Touch"
"Folks who never do any more than they get paid for, never get paid for any more than they do." — Elbert Hubbard
"I'd rather be a musician than a rock star." — George Harrison
"The assembly line process used in factories around the world is graded on its ability to produce the same product over and over again in the shortest amount of time possible, and for the cheapest price possible. We are making a dire mistake by approaching education in the same manner." — Justin Tarte
MIKE COLLINS: If we love variety so much, why are there so many fast food restaurants serving hamburgers, french fries, and sodas? Why aren't they serving more variety of foods?
BARBARA KAHN: Well, variety, in the end, tends to cost more. It's cheaper to produce "standardized;" the same thing over time. So if you're trading off "price with quality" or "price with variety and diversity," you're gonna go for the same standard item over time. — Barbara Kahn, Professor of Marketing and Director of the Baker Retailing Center at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania
