Why the Arts Matter: A Conversation with The Jackson Symphony

Episode 85: Pocket Change Podcast

How has The Jackson Symphony grown over the years?

Since 2022, the Jackson Symphony has grown 63%. Reminding people what they have is key to growth. They think of themselves as not only The Symphony for Jackson, but for West Tennessee as a whole. 

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Full Transcript

Shea:

Hey, this is Shea.

Carrie:

And this is Carrie.

Shea:

Welcome to the Pocket Change Podcast.

Carrie:

Where you'll learn better ways to spend, save, and invest and take control of your financial journey.

Shea:

You know, Carrie, there's some people say, oh, there's nothing to do here. I got to go somewhere else. But I would say we have plenty to do here in Jackson and West Tennessee, especially when it comes to the arts.

Carrie:

That's right. And our guest today is going to share all about her passion and how she got involved with The Jackson Symphony. And I can't wait to hear all the things happening this year.

Shea:

They’ve got an exciting season. You're definitely going to want to take advantage.

Carrie:

Absolutely.

Shea:

Attending the symphony and seeing all they have to offer.

Carrie:

Yes. So we're excited to welcome our guest, Sherry Freeman, CEO of The Jackson Symphony. Welcome to Pocket Change, Sherry.

Sherry Freeman:

Thank you so much. I'm delighted to be here. And thank you for having me.

Carrie:

Yes. Of course. So can you share how you got involved with the Jackson Symphony?

Sherry Freeman:

I can, that's a bit of a roundabout story a little bit, but yeah, my husband and I have always kind of had a passion for the arts and love engaging with arts. And when we first married, our first thing we bought as a husband and wife was season tickets to the Nashville Symphony. So when we moved to Jackson in ‘93, again, the first thing we engaged with was The Jackson Symphony. And so we had been a part of that for many years. I was in the school system and we were raising two children, but this kind of served as our date night, our get out, our make friends and just really, really loved it. When I began to get to the end of my career, The Jackson Symphony was at a point where it was looking for a new executive director, and I had Carl Kirkland, and some people approached me and say, you really should apply. We think you could do this job with The Jackson Symphony. And I was like, I don't know. You know, I'm in education. I'm not sure about that. And so finally one day they kind of came at me a bit more seriously and I said, well, oh, okay, let me think about this moment. So I did, and Kent and I talked about it and we decided, you know, there was nothing to lose. Why not? So I kind of came in at the very end of that search, and I guess the rest is history, as they would say. You know, I moved right in, started with The Jackson Symphony in November of 2018, part time, and then went full time with the symphony in February of 2019.

Carrie:

Okay.

Sherry Freeman:

So yeah, been there since then.

Carrie:

Doing a phenomenal job.

Sherry Freeman:

Well, thank you for that.

Shea:

So have you always had a passion for the arts or that start when you were younger? How did that come about?

Sherry Freeman:

Yeah, we always have I have Kent has we have as a family really I think that started with my mother. Both of my parents were college graduates, which was a bit unusual at the time. But my mother was in education. She was a teacher, and she really believed in kind of a well-rounded, holistic approach to education and was passionate about the three of us…There were two other girls, so the three of us girls, you know, experiencing and having opportunities with the arts. So, you know, we didn't, couldn't do everything. But she made a real point of making the arts available, wanting us to go to museums, to plays, to theater, you know, just really encouraging that. My father encouraged us to, you know, take piano lessons, sing in the choirs, you know, do those things. So it's always been a part of our world. And Kent and I as a couple and as parents, we also valued that and saw the value of having the arts not only is a part of our family, but as a part of our community.

Shea:

Yeah. That's wonderful.

Carrie:

I agree. So how have you seen the symphony grow over your years of being a part of it?

Sherry Freeman:

Well, you know, the symphony was always wonderful. It was always a wonderful part of Jackson and West Tennessee and the very mindset of the people that sat down to lay the foundation in 1961 for The Jackson Symphony. You know, they had a real, not only a passion for the arts and a passion to won't live music, but for the community as a whole. I've had the great honor of being at the helm of The Jackson Symphony at a time of tremendous growth. You know, I've just been able to remind people what they have, and it's been an honor to kind of carry that message not only into Jackson and Madison County, but throughout West Tennessee, because we really think of ourselves as West Tennessee’s symphony. So this growth that we're seeing and The Jackson Symphony has grown 63% just since 2022. So this, what we're seeing is this, this spread throughout West Tennessee and this passion for the arts and passion for live and entertainment and this need for a great quality of life.

Shea:

Right, definitely helps a lot of people because there are musicians that get to perform, there are citizens that get to receive. And so it's just a very well-rounded event and a group that really helps our community.

Sherry Freeman:

It really does because as you said, I mean, the one thing about live performance, whether it's the symphony, whether it's the theater, the ballet, is it is two sided in that. I mean, we hire well over 150 artists a year to work for us, and that provides them incomes, jobs, opportunities. And then, like you said on the other side of that, we serve an audience, a patron, and a community and bring all of those, those in those ends and sides together. It's a wonderful kind of give and take that you watch happen. You know, I love that part of it.

Carrie:

Yeah. I think it really enriches our community to have the arts be present in this community.

Sherry Freeman:

You know. Absolutely. If a community is going to be progressive, if they're going to be, if they're going to thrive, if they are, you know, on the edge of real growth, they will have a vital, very bought in artistic side. And so, you know, as we embrace that inside Jackson, Madison County, as we embrace that inside West Tennessee, you will see growth and you will see community, and you will see people coming together. Because the arts do that. They bring people together.

Carrie:

I love it.

Shea:

And so let's go back to your life and career in education. How do you feel like that prepared you to lead the symphony?

Sherry Freeman:

Well, you know, I, I was just talking to my staff yesterday about the fact there's a Rascal Flatts song called The Broken Road, you know, and I said, you know, I feel like my career is one of those situations where God just prepared me all along the way to, to this point. So I had a wonderful 32-year career in education. I spent most of it in public education, a bit of it in higher-ed. And, you know, those pieces of working with people, of seeing how kind of a micro community has to function, has to work inside of school, how you have to, you know, work with parents, how you have to work with the child is a bit the same thing of working with musicians and working with patrons and bringing those ins together. You know, it's, you know, a good communication was necessary in education that we see the same thing. Our I, I see the same thing on our side. And so those years spent there certainly prepared me for this side of things. And it also led, I can say directly to our forming of The Jackson Symphony Music Academy, which is our huge youth and children program, and my opportunity to see the need for art education and for advancing young artists led to those opportunities. And, you know, so it certainly has gone hand in hand in the work that I do now.

Shea:

Yeah.

Carrie:

So why do you feel including the arts in education is so important?

Sherry Freeman:

Well, you know, education is holistic. We prepare people for all kinds of opportunities in their life. And one of those opportunities we prepare people for are to be artists. I mean, we're blessed with that. It's always been in our history and, you know, great writers, great singers, great performers, great dancers, great musicians. I mean, that's always a part of our world. So to think that we would take one whole component of what gives us, most of the time, our entertainment, you know, whether it's in movies or theater or the symphony or, you know, it just goes on and on and on. I mean, we should never eliminate that creative, artistic side. We want people to be creative. We want people to be artistic even in your own jobs, even right here today. That is a valued and valuable to the work that you do.

Carrie:

It's also an outlet to, you know, it's a way to it's therapeutic. You know, it's a way to express yourself and have an outlet for things that may not be so great. It's you can set all that aside and then pour your yourself into it. I love that part of it.

Sherry Freeman:

That's right. Well, you know, it says, you know, make a joyful noise. Some of us are. Our noise is just a little more joyful than the other ones. So that's great.

Shea:

Sherry, tell us about the regional music centers and what that entails.

Sherry Freeman:

Yeah, we're very excited about this part of our work. So the regional music centers were kind of born out of just what we were talking about giving artists a voice, giving them a stage, giving them an opportunity. One of the things in my education, when I reflected upon children that often had behavioral and emotional issues that I had, I taught. I recognized that a majority of those children were great artists. They were great drawers, great writers, great dancers, great singers, great performers, and they just lacked an opportunity. And I think artists, we always say in The Jackson Symphony, artists without a stage, an artist without a stage is kind of an artist without a voice. And they don't always do well when they don't have an opportunity. When we reflected on this insider organization, we may not do everything well, but we do some things wonderfully. So I went to the board back in 2023, and I said, I really think The Jackson Symphony has been most blessed. We've been, you know, people have been so responsive to our work. It's really important that we begin to play this forward, that we begin to move our mission outside of our own doors. So we have established what we call regional music centers, where we provide strings instruction or choral instruction inside counties throughout West Tennessee. So we are now in nine counties, we may have a strings program in the county, and if so, it's free. Absolutely free. Our work is to remove every barrier that would keep a child from engaging with the arts. So if the child can't afford an instrument, we provide that. If they need concert clothes, we provide that. Even if the family needs gas money to see the performance we’ll take care of that. Everything that keeps that child from having that opportunity.

Carrie:

That’s awesome.

Sherry Freeman:

So some counties will have one, like a choral regional music center or strings regional music center. Some counties will have both. Our hope and objective is to be in all 22 counties, providing at least one of these. We hope to grow that to even both of these. In the last two years… we just ended two years in this program... We served more than 315 children this year alone. We have counties waiting throughout West Tennessee. I mean, we get calls almost daily. How do we bring this program to our county? How do we make this available? And also we'll be adding additional counties in the fall. So you know, we know, we're going into Benton County this fall. We know we're going into Hardin County this fall. So, you know, keep your eyes on our Facebook and Instagram as we post out where we'll be. And we will start regional music centers, because while we know those two are opening, we could be in additional counties. So it is, we have found something that is a need…

Carrie:

It’s working.

Sherry Freeman:

We’re thrilled! Yes. It's working. We're thrilled to provide this. We put these children on the stage at the Carl Perkins Civic Center twice a year. We just finished their spring concert. They had more than 250 children on that stage. They could not have been prouder of their moment. And that's what we're looking for. That will make a difference in children that will impact children's lives. And from that, we hope to find those artists that are at the very top of their game. This is their talent, this could be their career. And then we are now laying into place private lessons and opportunities for those children so that they can advance in these skills and opportunities. Because if you ask most artists in West Tennessee, you know, what about going to Juilliard? What about going to Eastman? What about going to some of the finest art colleges in the United States? That just doesn't seem real. That just doesn't seem possible. We want to make that real. We want to make that possible.

Shea:

Y'all are developing that pipeline for future musicians in the symphony now, too. That's right. This program, and I've seen it firsthand, all those kids on the stage at the Civic Center coming together. And it's just a great sight to see and hear the beautiful music sung and played. I mean, it was fantastic. So you're right, making an impact.

Sherry Freeman:

And you really touch on something that was really important. You know, not only are we making pathways for young musicians, but we're also making pathways for the patrons that'll be in the audience in years to come. For board members who will serve these arts organizations, for people that will go on to be on school boards and important councils, that will determine how the arts play a role inside their own communities. So while it has a direct line to make a path for a young artist, it has a direct line to how the arts are going to impact West Tennessee and communities for years to come.

Shea:

That's right.

Carrie:

That's great. So I think it's pretty obvious, but just in case someone's not plugged into the arts, why do you feel it's important to support the arts?

Sherry Freeman:

Well, the arts serve a variety of purposes inside your community. I mean, first of all, they're an economic driver. I mean, The Jackson Symphony is a major economic provider for Jackson and Madison County. I mean, on average, we will rent 350 plus hotel rooms a year just through our organization. Commissioner Isabel was in town the other day, and he spoke about how much value an overnight guest has. I mean, we figured our hotel rooms, just the symphony’s alone, did well over $100,000 in revenue. When people come in for these concerts at one of our concerts this year, we sell tickets into Paducah, Kentucky. Murray, Kentucky. Little Rock, Arkansas. Arlington, Tennessee. And Corinth, Mississippi. We're bringing audiences that are driving in, and when those people drive into our communities, they are spending money inside our town. They are buying gas. They are getting food. They are stopping for other things. I mean, we want that. The arts drive a more revenue than is often, you know, made people aware, you know, so we probably don't do as good a job as we need to about talking about our impact. The Jackson Symphony rents the Carl Perkins Civic Center, I think more than any other organization, in a year's time, we hire caterers, we hire security, we hire production companies, we are hiring ushers. I mean, we're generating all kinds of revenue, all kinds of opportunities for other businesses to engage with us. And not only that, we have businesses then that sponsor, just like Leaders Credit Union, you know, that are a part of the work that we do. And, you know, so all of that is impactful across communities. And, you know, I think you're seeing a real awakening of the arts in West Tennessee and a real realization of, you know, the economic impact. And then the arts have the opportunity to bring community. They pull people together. I mean, we join together for something that collectively is just an opportunity to share. I mean, live music, live performances, those, you know, it doesn't matter who you are or how you think. In that moment, you and our neighbors, we’re friends... We are sharing an experience together. So it's a bit like sharing food together. And you know, the things we treasure. That's what I believe the arts do, do for our communities and do for us.

Carrie:

The ripple effect.

Sherry Freeman:

Absolutely.

Carrie:

I love hearing your passion about it.

Sherry Freeman:

Well, thank you, thank you. You know, when I started this job, I was talking to Carl Kirkland, and I said, you know, Carl, you must really love the symphony. He said, probably the greatest thing that I never have forgotten in all my career. In this, he said, what I love is the people of Jackson and West Tennessee, and I want for them the things that make living in communities wonderful. And I said, you know what, Carl? I love that too. I believe that, too. And that has driven my passion for the symphony, for the arts, for advocating for it is because of my love for this community, this area, for West Tennessee as a whole. This was my home. This is where I grew up. This is where I raised my family. And, you know, I want these things for us to have.

Shea:

Right. I think is the quote that says, you know, music is the one language we can all understand or something along those lines. And I think that just speaks to what the arts can do and bringing us together in our community. So tell us about the upcoming season with the symphony and what you're most excited for…

Sherry Freeman:

Well, this is an unbelievable season, the 66th season of The Jackson Symphony. We have never missed a season since opening. Wow. Even through Covid, I mean, this is just amazing. And so we I truly somebody laughed the other day and they said, what are you doing next year? I said, well, I don't know. We you know, we really pulled it all out for this year. So we're very excited about the fact that we're focused a lot in America 250 this year on American artists, American composers, you know, so a lot of focus in that inside our opportunity. But when I took this position, I saw that people, the opportunities that were available for people in large cities and communities were not always available in West Tennessee. I have a real passion for that not to be the case. So this season represents kind of years of my work for us to get to that point, years of the work of the team that I work with. The mission of Paul Haas as the conductor, music director of The Jackson Symphony. So a real pull in. So you're going to see things this year, like the Threads, the story of Dolly Parton. This is truly a work by Dolly. She always wanted her music to be played by a symphony. So she put it together. She tells the story as the night goes on, and so she's on screen telling the story of all of her songs. She has hired the singers that come with this. So we're very excited as the symphony plays, as the orchestra plays her works and, and she tells the story of her music. So that's a big, big opportunity for us. This has only been in the largest markets. So the fact that we have this in Jackson is amazing. It really is.

Carrie:

I can't wait to go to that.

Sherry Freeman:

Me either. Then you're going to you know, we're opening with Gershwin. We calling it Rhapsody in Blue Jeans. Real kind of spin on the masterworks concert, but you'll hear music by John Williams, you know, that has written so much of America's music. So we'll have that throughout the season. We'll, of course, have the holiday pops that everybody loves. We're doing a Sunday matinee. We call it Beethoven and Brunch. So a lot of fun there. And no, Beethoven is our one off on the on the American, this year. The Starlight Symphony is fully America 250, free concert. And so it's going to be a big night. We'll have the music of Tina Turner. We're doing a big focus on Haywood County that night, who has been a great friend of the Jackson Symphony. As we start to highlight the counties throughout West Tennessee in our symphony, then we'll we are doing opera in March. We've had a lot of requests for opera. So we're bringing in this amazing opera singer out in New York that's coming in to do the night. We'll also be doing West Side Story, that night to lean into our America focus. And then, of course, we're going to end our season with Star Wars. That is film, live to music. So you will be watching the original Star Wars film at its 50th anniversary, and we will play all the scores, and that is a big deal for us. So, you know, this is an amazing opportunity, amazing thing. But I don't want people in West Tennessee to have to drive somewhere to have these experiences. It's very important to me and to The Jackson Symphony and to our team that these things are available here, and we want you to come out and support them and be a part of them. It's going to be a great season.

Carrie:

Sounds like it.

Shea:

Well, we're as excited just as you are about this upcoming season. It sounds like some sold out shows will be taking place this year.

Sherry Freeman:

Absolutely.

Shea:

With all that you have coming!

Sherry Freeman:

And tickets are on sale right now.

Shea:

Okay, great.

Sherry Freeman:

So you need to be grabbing those.

Shea:

Snatch them up!

Sherry Freeman:

We are absolutely looking for at least four of the shows this season to be completely sold out.

Shea:

Absolutely. All right, so if someone wants to support the arts in their community, like The Jackson Symphony, what advice would you give them if they don't know where to start?

Sherry Freeman:

Well, what I would say is, you know, find your passion, find what you enjoy. But don't be shortsighted in that. You know, oftentimes we may say like, I don't… I may not like symphonic music. You know, that's not the type of music I like. Well, find what you like, but then also look at these organizations that are really trying to make steps and paths that move all of the arts forward and, and get behind that work. So if you're, you know, say, I may not want to support a concert or The Jackson Symphony as a whole, but I believe in the regional music centers. Then get behind work we do. Maybe you believe in our Music and Healing program, where we send musicians weekly into the Kirkland Cancer Center, into hospitals, into long term memory care, and veterans home at no charge throughout West Tennessee. Maybe that's what you believe in. So find a part where you connect, believe in the work. Don't just believe in the product, but believe in the work that the organization is doing and find that. And if it's the ballet, great, go get behind the work. If it's the theater, fabulous. Go get behind the theater. If it's your local arts organization, then go get behind that. But everybody needs to be behind the arts because they are advancing your community, and they cannot exist if you do not support them. We cannot exist in The Jackson Symphony without private and corporate support. We just can't do it. And I love corporate support. It is so important to The Jackson Symphony because it helps forward step us in big ways. But there is nothing more important than that individual donation. I have people that give $10 a month, and you may think, uh, that $120 a year is huge to us. That will put a musician in the Kirkland Cancer Center for an hour that will send and help buy an instrument for a child in a regional music center, that will help pay the salary of an artist. I mean that money matters. There is no donation to small. What I'm saying to you is, do you donate? Do you give? And if your answer is no, I don't personally give because I don't feel like I've got the money to give. Then you've got the wrong answer. You've got the wrong idea. You need to make a place for the arts. And because I'm going to tell you, it's going to play you forward far more than the gift you're given.

Shea:

I love that, play you forward with that.

Sherry Freeman:

It really is not us. It's play you. That's right.

Shea:

So give, attend. I mean, experience it because there are things that we can do right here in our community. We don't have to go off anywhere else like you're saying. And so give and attend and enjoy the experience and share it with others, because there's so much good happening in our community that we can be involved in to enjoy life and build community. So I think that's so important.

Carrie:

And there's such a variety to get involved in too. So if you don't like one thing, then try something else. Just I feel like a lot of people say no, but they've never even been and never even experienced it. So maybe just try it once.

Sherry Freeman:

Well, you know, we see that every day. You know, I'll have people say, oh, I don't really like, you know, classical music or whatever. And I'm like, have you ever been? Have you ever seen this happen? You know, and that has been one of the great things about our summer series with symphony on the moves. We take that experience out to communities throughout West Tennessee, and people have a whole new concept and a whole new perception because, you know, perception is reality for us, and we battle that on a daily basis. Oh, I can't go to the symphony. That's very, you know, high brow. I, you know, I wouldn't know how to dress. We don't care. We just want you to come. We want you to experience these live music opportunities, you know, inside the community throughout the world. You know, be a part of all this that's happening.

Shea:

It's wonderful.

Carrie:

Yeah, I think so, too. So shifting gears a little bit, since we are a financial podcast, I would love to hear what's the best financial advice you've ever been given?

Sherry Freeman:

Well, try not to spend everything you make. I would think would be close. And that's very important inside the symphony too, you know? But, you know, be a good money manager. Be aware of your money. And, you know, sometimes some of the hardest things to do is actually be honest with yourself in your finances, you know, how do you spend your money, you know, how is that used? And then when we dig down, oftentimes we feel like, you know, we could have been better stewards of it. We could have made our money do more for more people and not only just ourselves. If we if we take a closer look at that.

Shea:

Play it forward and give it forward.

Sherry Freeman:

Yeah. That's right, that's right.

Shea:

So if you just had some extra pocket change, just a little change to spend, what would you spend it on?

Sherry Freeman:

Oh, I guess I should say you need to give it to The Jackson Symphony if you've got a little extra charge in your pocket. But if I've just got something I could blow. You know, my husband and I, we have grandchildren now. We have four great grandchildren. I mean, four grandchildren that we love. And they're not great grandchildren. Their just grandchildren. Let me stop aging myself on that. They are great grandchildren. Let me pause in there. But, you know, obviously we love tormenting their parents, giving them all the things that they say we shouldn't.

Shea:

Give them, all the loud instruments and things.

Sherry Freeman:

Instruments, water guns, Nerf guns, chocolate when they shouldn't have it. But, you know, we loved we love spending money on our family. We love spending time with our family. And so probably that's where it would go if I had any extra. Now, if there's just two or three dollars in my pocket now, I might be buying some red lipstick, but otherwise I would be putting that money on the kids.

Carrie:

That's great. Great. Well thank you. Sherry, for joining us today. I'm so excited about this next season, and I can't wait to show up and be a part of it myself.

Sherry Freeman:

Well, thank you all. It was a pleasure to be here with you today. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to tell our story and encourage people to engage with the arts.

Carrie:

Yes.

Shea:

Thank you.