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Hickory Arts

Name: Hickory Arts
Address: 720 Second Avenue SW, Hickory, NC, 28602, US
Telephone: +18282709801

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Music lessons, acting classes, artist development & creative services in Hickory, NC. Serving students, families & artists since 2010. Home is where the art is.

Hickory Arts is a music, acting, and creative arts studio in Hickory, North Carolina, offering private music lessons, acting classes, artist development, recording, photography, and creative services for kids, teens, and adults. Since 2010, our instructors have helped students build confidence, technique, creativity, and real-world performance skills through personalized one-on-one instruction. Students can study guitar, piano, voice, violin and strings, bass, songwriting, acting, audition preparation, artist development, recording, photography, and more.

10/08/2026

Musical theatre lives where acting and voice meet.

You can sing every note correctly and still not tell the story.

You can understand the character perfectly and still need the vocal technique to deliver the performance.

Musical theatre asks performers to do both.

At Hickory Arts, musical theatre lessons in Hickory, NC can bring together private voice training and acting coaching based on what the individual performer actually needs.

That may include:

Vocal technique
Acting through song
Character interpretation
Audition preparation
Song and monologue coaching
Scene study
Musical storytelling
Stage presence
Confidence
Cold reads
Performance choices
Preparing for a current production

A singer may need more acting.

An actor may need more voice.

A musical theatre performer eventually needs those disciplines to stop feeling like separate subjects.

Whether you’re preparing for a school musical, community theatre audition, college program, competition, or simply want to become a stronger musical theatre performer, we can build the work around your goals.

Explore musical theatre training through our Voice and Acting programs. Links are in the first comment.

10/07/2026

Main character energy.

We couldn’t have planned the shirt any better.

Hickory Arts musical theatre student Kathryn Boone stopped by our table during the Fall Art Crawl in Downtown Hickory to say hello and show her support for the studio.

Kathryn is one of our younger performers exploring the place where music, acting, character, confidence, and storytelling all start bumping into each other.

That’s one of the things we love about musical theatre.

A student may begin because they love to sing.

Then they discover acting.

Or they love acting and realize the song is part of the scene.

Before long, voice, character, movement, interpretation, confidence, and performance all become part of the same creative toolbox.

Thanks for stopping by, Kathryn.

And yes...

Main character energy.

Tomorrow we’ll be talking more about musical theatre training at Hickory Arts and how our Voice and Acting programs work together.

10/01/2026

Meet Hannah Pratt, Acting Coach at Hickory Arts.

We’re very happy to welcome Hannah to Hickory Arts, where she is now offering private acting lessons, audition coaching, and musical theatre coaching in Hickory, NC.

Hannah brings an interesting combination to the room: she’s an actor, director, theatre educator, and storyteller.

She holds degrees in English Secondary Education and Theatre Arts from Appalachian State University, bringing together a background in literature, education, script analysis, character, and performance.

As a director and theatre educator, Hannah has led productions including Hadestown: Teen Edition, Pippin, Legally Blonde, and Hello, Dolly!, while helping student performers and creative teams earn recognition through the Blumey Awards and NCTC.

She’s also an active performer. Recent roles include Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar, Ocean O’Connell Rosenberg in Ride the Cyclone, and Kitty in The Drowsy Chaperone at Hickory Theatre, where she received a Kay Award for Outstanding Featured Performer.

At Hickory Arts, Hannah works with:

Beginning and experienced actors
Audition preparation
Character development
Scene and script work
Monologues and cold reads
Acting through song
Musical theatre performance
Students currently working on productions
Blumey, NCTC, and competition preparation
Technical theatre students seeking guidance with presentations and creative work

Her approach starts with relationships and trust, then helps students understand the story, make braver choices, and build confidence through craft.

Meet Hannah and learn about working with her. Links are in the first comment.

09/30/2026

Home is where the art is. Sometimes home is downtown.

We recently took Hickory Arts out of the studio and into Downtown Hickory for the Fall Art Crawl.

One of the people who stopped by to show her support was Holli Armstrong, a Hickory Arts voice student and an active actor in the local theatre community.

And honestly, this is one of the things we value most about what Hickory Arts has become over the years.

Lessons may happen one-on-one inside the studio, but the arts don’t exist in isolation.

Singers meet musicians.

Actors meet other actors.

Performers discover opportunities.

Students become collaborators.

Teachers become mentors.

And sometimes people simply show up for one another.

As Hickory Arts moves toward our 17th year in Hickory, we’re grateful to remain part of a downtown and regional arts community filled with musicians, actors, artists, educators, organizations, businesses, and people willing to support creative work.

Thanks for stopping by, Holli.

Home is where the art is.

09/29/2026

There are 10,080 minutes in a week.

Most of our recurring students spend about 30 of them with us.

That leaves 10,050 minutes.

So if you take music lessons or acting lessons, what are you supposed to do with all that time when your teacher isn’t sitting beside you?

That’s really what our newest article is about.

A good lesson can help identify the problem.

Demonstrate something.

Correct something.

Answer questions.

Offer a new approach.

Point you toward the next step.

But your teacher can’t practice for you.

Can’t memorize the lines for you.

Can’t send the audition materials for you.

Can’t ask the questions you never bring into the room.

And ultimately shouldn’t be trying to create somebody who can’t function without a weekly appointment.

Thirty minutes can matter enormously.

But you still have the other 10,050.

Read the new article. Link in the first comment.

09/23/2026

Sometimes voice lessons become more than voice lessons.

Devin Nix came to Hickory Arts two and a half years ago with an interest in learning how to sing.

Here’s how he describes what happened next:

“Hickory Arts has been a part of my life for the past two and a half years, starting with just an interest in learning how to sing. My lessons with Mr. Hartman have in no small way changed my life. Music has become an integral part of who I am and has kept me going strong during hard times. It’s not an overstatement to say that this place changed the course of my life, and I’ll always look forward to the possibility of coming back to learn more when I’m back in town.”

Devin Nix, Voice Lessons

Voice lessons at Hickory Arts in Hickory, NC are personalized around the individual singer, whether someone is just learning to sing or developing technique, confidence, performance skills, musical expression, or their own artistic identity.

Sometimes the first step really is as simple as:

I think I’d like to learn how to sing.

Voice lesson and testimonial links are in the first comment.

09/17/2026

Hickory Arts is growing.

We’re looking for two additional teaching artists to join our studio in Hickory:

Voice Instructor
Acting Coach

Hickory Arts is small and private by design. We’re not looking for instructors to run students through a standardized system.

We’re looking for people who teach well, communicate well, know their craft, care about the individual sitting across from them, and understand that sometimes the most important thing a teacher provides isn’t written in a method book.

Both positions can include private one-on-one instruction and, when appropriate, group classes or workshops.

Schedules are flexible and appointment-based. No regular weekends are necessary. All sessions are held in person at Hickory Arts in Hickory, NC.

We’re comfortable with someone beginning with only one or two students and building a roster over time.

For our Voice Instructor, experience teaching singers of different ages and levels is important. Piano skills are strongly preferred, particularly because many singers benefit from live accompaniment. Musical theatre experience is a plus.

For our Acting Coach, we’re especially interested in someone comfortable helping students with acting technique, scene study, character development, audition preparation, stage and/or on-camera work, and performance confidence.

For both roles, we value:

Professional experience
Teaching ability
Strong communication
Reliability
Mentorship
Individualized instruction
Community involvement
A willingness to help build and promote your own program

A related college degree is preferred, along with teaching and professional experience.

Hickory Arts is currently in its 16th year, and much of our growth has always come through relationships, word of mouth, cross-promotion, and people who genuinely believe in what they teach.

If that sounds like your kind of place, we’d like to hear from you.

Application link in the comments.

09/16/2026

It’s never too late to learn violin.

Ann Ochsner is 66 and studies violin with Andrea Jove at Hickory Arts.

Here’s what Ann had to say:

“I have had the honor to be a student of violin with Andrea Jove as my instructor. She has been so patient, kind and encouraging that I find myself as addicted to her friendship as I am to her instruction. I highly recommend her as teacher for any age! As I am 66, it’s never too late to learn something new.”

Ann Ochsner, Violin Lessons

Andrea teaches personalized violin lessons in Hickory, NC for kids, teens, and adults, from beginners through advanced students.

Whether you’re picking up a violin for the first time at 6, 16, or 66, the important part isn’t when you start.

It’s that you start.

Learn about violin lessons and read more student experiences in the comments.

09/15/2026

What’s in a name?

For us, apparently quite a lot.

HICKORY

Home.
Initiative.
Collaboration.
Kinetic.
Original.
Real.
You.

ARTS

Autonomy.
Relationships.
Trust.
Support.

Those words didn’t create Hickory Arts.

They turned out to describe what we’d already spent years trying to build.

A creative home.

Students who take initiative.

Artists who collaborate.

Training that actually moves somewhere.

Original work.

Real experience.

And, most importantly, you.

Then autonomy.

Relationships.

Trust.

Support.

The video is the short version.

Our newest blog is the slightly less short version.

Read the full story. Link in the comments.

09/10/2026

Nine months. Nine House Concerts. Now booking 2027.

We’re opening the calendar for the 2027 Hickory Arts House Concert Series, with one concert each month from February through October.

House Concerts are built around a pretty simple idea:

Live music deserves to be listened to.

Not shouted over.

Not squeezed between televisions and bar noise.

Not treated like wallpaper.

Our House Concerts create an intimate space where the audience is actually there for the artist and the music.

Guests typically contribute $20 each. With around 30 people in the room, that can mean roughly $600 going directly to the performers.

Hickory Arts takes no cut.

Artists can personalize the room, bring their own character to the evening, and create a performance that feels like their event.

The series is open to established artists, developing artists, Hickory Arts students, and performers from outside the studio.

And because we schedule only one House Concert per month, there are just nine opportunities in the 2027 season.

Interested in performing?

More information and contact links are in the comments.

Address

720 Second Avenue SW
Hickory, NC
28602

Opening Hours

Monday	11am - 7pm
Tuesday	11am - 7pm
Wednesday	11am - 7pm
Thursday	11am - 7pm

Telephone

+18282709801

Website

https://www.hickoryarts.com/

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