Hickory Arts on First Talk with Hal Row
A 2013 interview with Jeff and Carol Anne Hartman about Hickory Arts, music lessons, acting, artist development, photography, recording, and the Hickory creative community.
In November 2013, Jeff and Carol Anne Hartman joined Hal Row on WHKY’s First Talk to discuss Hickory Arts, the Hickory creative community, and the work happening inside the studio.
At the time, Hickory Arts was growing from a family-driven creative vision into a working studio for music lessons, acting, songwriting, photography, recording, performance coaching, and artist development.
More than a decade later, the heart of the conversation still feels familiar.
Helping artists grow.
Meeting students where they are.
Building confidence.
Supporting the arts in Hickory, North Carolina.
Creating a place where music, theatre, photography, recording, and performance can work together instead of living in separate boxes.
The transcript below has been edited for clarity, readability, and flow.
About the Interview
Program: First Talk with Hal Row on 1290 WHKY Talk Radio
Host: Hal Row
Guests: Jeff Hartman and Carol Anne Hartman
Original Date: November 1, 2013
Topics: Hickory Arts, music lessons, acting lessons, songwriting, artist development, photography, recording, theatre, student success, and the Hickory arts community
Theatre, Music, and the Hartmans
Hal Row: Welcome back to First Talk with Hal Row on 1290 WHKY Talk Radio for the Greater Hickory Metro. I’ve got to say, two of my favorite people in the community are here. If you go over their resumes and everything they have done over the years, just since I’ve known them, it would take us an hour to discuss it all.
Jeff and Carol Anne Hartman, thank you both for joining us this morning.
Carol Anne Hartman: Good to see you too. Thanks for having us.
Hal: Jeff, I know you’ve done work with Hickory Community Theatre for a number of years, and Carol Anne, you as well. Did you two meet on stage?
Carol Anne: We met on stage, not at Hickory Community Theatre, but doing a show.
Jeff Hartman: And we ended up getting married on stage at Hickory Community Theatre.
Hal: Theatre has been a big part of your life and your work. One show people may remember you for is The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged). Was that one of the original shows people still talk about?
Jeff: That show did so well when we originally did it that they asked us to do it again this season.
Carol Anne: People would call and ask them to do it again.
Hal: Carol Anne, I’m guessing Chicago is one people remember you from?
Carol Anne: Yes, Chicago would be a good one. More recently, The Sound of Music. That one sold out almost every night, and I still have people come up to me and ask if I was in it.
A Student Project That Confirmed the Mission
Hal: Jeff, you also recently worked on music for The Full Monty. I know both of you have done so much over the years that we could talk for a long time. Is there something recent you’re especially proud of?
Jeff: This is actually a nice segue. We just did a senior project with Kevin Barrett. He was studying sound engineering and wanted to learn more about audio operating in film. We were able to work with him through Hickory Arts, and that is something I’m very proud of.
He messaged me afterward and said he got a perfect score on the project.
Carol Anne: He’s giving a thumbs-up while he says that.
Jeff: Yes. I’m very visual when I talk.
Hal: That must have felt good.
Jeff: It really made me feel like what we’re doing is what we’re supposed to be doing.
Carol Anne Hartman Photography
Hal: Carol Anne, you’ve done a lot with digital photography and photography classes. You grew up shooting film, right?
Carol Anne: Yes. I grew up shooting film. My dad had a darkroom in a closet in the house, and he taught me how to use my mom’s old film camera. We developed photos ourselves.
I had always shot for fun, even from middle school. When digital came out, and I had a need for it in my business, Jeff gifted me a digital camera, and it grew from there. Eventually, it became a business.
We’ve also moved into video quite a bit.
Hal: That history with your dad and the darkroom must have been special.
Carol Anne: It was.
What Is Hickory Arts?
Hal: Let’s talk about Hickory Arts. There is so much happening on the website. Give us a working definition. What is Hickory Arts?
Carol Anne: The easiest way to define it is that we take performance artists from point A to point B, whatever that may be.
That includes actors, musicians, singers, songwriters, and eventually we would love to incorporate more visual arts as well. Right now, the focus is performance artists.
That might be someone who wants to get a part in a play and comes in for a couple of weeks of coaching before an audition.
It might be someone who sits at home writing songs but doesn’t know what to do with them and wants to record them or put music to them.
It might be someone who sings in the shower and wants to get up on stage.
We help teach the steps it takes to get from where they are to where they want to go. We are very particular about not just throwing something at students and saying, “Here, go do this.” We don’t do open mic nights just to throw people out there. We teach the steps in specific detail.
Hal: So it is custom-tailored to the individual. Wherever their point A is, and wherever they want point B to be, you help with that.
Carol Anne: Yes. We are very specialized, and we limit how many students our teachers can have so they can really invest in them.
Music Lessons, Voice, Piano, Guitar, and Songwriting
Hal: Let’s talk about what is being offered now. Even though instruction is tailored to the individual student, there are general areas you offer. Where do you want to start?
Carol Anne: We have a big list. Anything performance-wise.
We have voice. Jeff specializes in working with songwriters, so he works with kids and adults who write songs and helps them shape what they’re doing and get it out there.
We have guitar, bass, drums, piano, and two kinds of piano. Jeff teaches by ear and chord, and we teach classical piano, classical voice, and Broadway voice.
We’ve also added teachers so that brass, wind instruments, and string instruments are covered as well.
Hal: Are these group lessons or individual lessons?
Carol Anne: Right now, they are all private lessons. We do have some acting classes and group classes for kids and adults on the horizon.
Acting, Improv, and Character Work
Hal: You also have a class coming up that is free and open to the public, related to acting and choices and character development.
Carol Anne: Yes. We have an improv class coming up January 26th in collaboration with Hickory Community Theatre and Charlotte Comedy Theater.
It is great for anyone who wants to work on acting skills or someone who is not quite sure what acting or improv is about and wants to try it.
Hal: Where will it be held?
Carol Anne: At Hickory Arts. Jason Spooner, the creative director of Charlotte Comedy Theater, is coming up from Charlotte to teach it. We have room for 30 people, and it is free and open to anyone 12 and older.
Hal: People think about improv because of shows like Whose Line Is It Anyway?, but they may not realize there are rules and techniques involved.
Carol Anne: Yes. There are wrong ways to do improv. This class gives people a general idea of how to do it and how to develop characters while they are working.
It is also a great opportunity for someone to try it in a larger group setting. There is no pressure. Everyone is there on the same page, supporting each other. Even someone who has never acted before can walk in and feel supported trying it for the first time.
The Hickory Arts Facility
Hal: Hickory Arts started almost as a cottage industry out of your home, but now you have a working facility. Tell us about that.
Jeff: We do. It is located on 2nd Avenue Southwest across from Hickory Optimist Park.
It is a great little place. We have four main private session rooms that also double as recording booths. We have an open cabaret space that can seat up to 40 people, where we have done house concerts and group sessions. We also have a master control room.
Carol Anne has her own photography vault. It used to be a fireproof vault, so it is this big brick enclosure. It is really cool, and she has done a lot of work in there.
Photography Classes at Hickory Arts
Hal: Carol Anne, are your photography classes connected to Hickory Arts?
Carol Anne: I teach them under my business name, but I do them in conjunction with Hickory Arts. I use the facility, and we cross-advertise.
I only do a couple of big classes a year, but I also teach private lessons. We have a group class coming up in March.
Hal: What does that class cover?
Carol Anne: It is an all-day class from 10 to 6. Students bring their cameras, mostly DSLR cameras. We start by learning how to shoot in manual mode. We talk about what the camera does and how to make it do what you want instead of relying on the camera to decide for you.
What I tell my students is that I am teaching them to be smarter than the camera.
Why Hickory Arts Was Created
Hal: How did this come about? You are actors, musicians, photographers, and artists. How did you decide this was something you wanted to do and bring to others?
Carol Anne: Do I get to tell the honest answer?
Jeff had been teaching music since college. He had taught on his own, through different facilities, and then on his own again. Eventually, we looked at each other and said, “We are getting older. We have to do something real with this.”
We had talked with John, who was coming back to the area, and we had donations from friends and family who supported us. That is where it came from. We needed to make something real for ourselves, for our kids, and for our future.
Hal: You were already credible because of your talents and abilities, but this gave it a roof, an address, a business license, and a place.
Carol Anne: Exactly. It also allowed us to incorporate other teachers. Jeff had received so many compliments from students and parents over the years about what a great teacher he is. It was the right move to make.
Jeff: As we looked for other opportunities to use our skills, we realized that a lot of artists think there is only one way to make money in the arts, and that is performing.
But there are so many other avenues: scoring, getting music placed in film and television, recording, production, and other creative paths. As we discovered those avenues, we wanted to make them clear to other up-and-coming artists as well.
Carol Anne: We are also very big on collaboration and working with other companies, even outside our industry. We wanted to pull people together and help other businesses too. Hickory Arts gave us a hub and an official space for that.
Why Hickory?
Hal: You could have done this anywhere. Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Raleigh, Greensboro. Why Hickory?
Jeff: For me, Hickory has always been a great crossroads. You can drive up the mountain, go to Asheville, go to Charlotte, and you are right in the middle of so much.
You can go see a football game, a concert, or be part of a larger arts scene, but you do not have to deal with the traffic and some of the negatives of living in those areas every day.
Carol Anne: Hickory is also an arts-supportive community. You look at Newton and Conover with The Green Room, Hickory Community Theatre, Foothills, Newton-Conover Auditorium, and so many other places. There are a lot of people here who want to be involved in the arts but do not always know how to take the next step.
Hal: Not only is the community supportive of the arts, but there are a lot of artists here.
Jeff: We are working with Molly Bass and developing a new musical with her. John is right there in the studio, and he is an original composer. There is so much creativity here.
Hickory Arts Instructors
Hal: Let’s talk about your instructors. John is involved. Give a quick bio for anyone who may not know him.
Carol Anne: John had been in New York for more than a decade, playing in the pit, music directing Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, and touring nationally and internationally. He had been to Scotland and had toured on cruise ships.
Hal: So he made a living pursuing his art, and now you are able to use his experience at Hickory Arts.
Who else is involved?
Jeff: We also had Diana Stone handling string instruments. She plays with the symphony and does a lot of pit work for community theatre.
Steven Foster came on board for wind instruments. He was in the pit with me for The Full Monty.
Matt Decker, who was also in the pit for The Full Monty, teaches percussion.
Amalie Hinson is a vocal technique teacher. She taught Carol Anne, and she is fabulous. She also works with Lenoir-Rhyne.
Hal: So when someone works with Hickory Arts, they have access to these teachers, and you can help connect them with the right person depending on what they need.
Carol Anne: Yes. We are always looking for students who need something we may not already offer, and we will try to find it. We are also always looking for teachers who want to be part of the team.
How to Contact Hickory Arts
Hal: Just in case someone needs to go during the break, what is the best way to contact Hickory Arts?
Carol Anne: The website is simple: hickoryarts.com. All of our contact information is there.
We also have a phone number that rings directly to either of us, whoever is available.
Hal: That number is 828-270-9801.
Student Success Stories
Hal: Before we wrap up, let’s talk about the meat and potatoes of what you are doing. Let’s talk about a couple of your students.
Jeff: I love working with the Moore Brothers. They are so talented. I have a session with them today.
Carol Anne: All of our students are doing phenomenally, and we do not want to single out only a couple, but some students have had things go public recently.
One is Shannon Underwood. She had been with Jeff since before Hickory Arts opened and helped with some of the fundraising videos. She was recording an album and had released the first track as a single through iTunes and CD Baby.
We were proud of everything she had accomplished because she was an adult, working and living on her own, and still making time to develop her art. That is a big deal.
Jeff: Aly Adams was newer to Hickory Arts. We began working with her in the fall, and she had recorded and released her first music video, a cover of “It Must Have Been Love” by Roxette. She has an amazing voice, very old-school and Etta James-sounding. She was also preparing to release her first original single.
Hal: That is what can happen through Hickory Arts. Every artist has a journey from point A to point B. They may only be at point A.5, but Hickory Arts can help them keep moving.
Looking Back
This interview captures Hickory Arts during an important early chapter.
The studio had a physical home.
Students were working.
Teachers were joining.
House concerts, photography classes, recording sessions, acting workshops, and private lessons were happening.
The idea was no longer just an idea.
It had become a place.
Years later, the language still fits:
Helping performance artists get from point A to point B.
Whether that means a child taking their first music lesson, an actor preparing for an audition, a songwriter recording original music, a singer finding confidence, or an adult returning to a creative life, the heart of Hickory Arts remains the same.
Meet the student where they are.
Help them discover where they want to go.
Then help them take the next step.
Home is where the art is.
