Nashville Symphony Announces Sherry Gibbs as New Vice President of Communications
Nashville, Tenn. (April 8, 2024) – The Nashville Symphony announced today the appointment of Sherry Gibbs as the organization’s new Vice President of Communications. An award-winning storyteller, Gibbs comes to the Nashville Symphony with more than 20 years of experience in marketing and communications. She has served in executive and senior leadership positions with Nashville General Hospital, GEHA, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, Children’s Mercy, Ceasars Entertainment, and Prairie Dog, a healthcare marketing agency.
Gibbs will be responsible for creating local and national visibility for the Nashville Symphony, supporting the institution’s branding, both earned and contributed revenue goals, and audience development efforts – along with curating communications across all digital, published, and in-person platforms to help tell the Nashville Symphony’s story.
“Sherry’s extensive knowledge of marketing and communications – backed by her passion for the arts – will be an incredible asset to shaping the current and future story of the Nashville Symphony,” said Nashville Symphony President & CEO Alan D. Valentine. “Her personal and professional investment in the Nashville community over the past four years with her work at Nashville General Hospital and as a community leader is commendable, and we’re excited to welcome her as an integral part of our senior leadership team.”
Gibbs most recently served as Senior Vice President and Managing Director for Prairie Dog, leading marketing and communications strategies and campaigns for nationwide healthcare organizations. During her tenure at GEHA, Gibbs played a crucial role in negotiating and creating GEHA’s multi-year partnership with the Kansas City Chiefs. She received the Bronze Quill and Silver PRISM awards from the Kansas City International Association of Business Communicators and the Greater Kansas City Public Relations Society of America for outstanding public relations and strategic communications.
“I admire everything about the Nashville Symphony – from its diverse programming to its leadership before and after the pandemic’s disruptions,” said Sherry Gibbs. “I’m excited to join the team, share my love for the arts, and help bring the Symphony’s programming, community and educational initiatives, and mission to inspire through classical music to as many people as possible.”
While in Kansas City, Gibbs served on the boards of The Black Repertory Theatre of Kansas City, Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey, and Girl Scouts of NE Kansas and NW Missouri. Gibbs graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and from Duke University with a Master of Business Administration in Marketing.
About the Nashville Symphony
The Nashville Symphony has been the primary ambassador for classical music in Music City since 1946. Led by Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero, the ensemble is internationally acclaimed for its focus on contemporary American orchestral music through collaborations with composers including Jennifer Higdon, Terry Riley, Joan Tower, and Aaron Jay Kernis; commissioning and recording projects with Nashville-based artists including Edgar Meyer, Bela Fleck, Ben Folds and Victor Wooten; and for its 14 GRAMMY® Awards and 27 nominations. In addition to its classical season, the orchestra performs concerts in a wide range of genres, from pops to live-to-film movie scores, family-focused presentations, holiday events, jazz and cabaret evenings and is the official orchestra for the Nashville Ballet.
An established leader in Nashville and regional arts and cultural communities, the Symphony spearheads groundbreaking community partnerships and initiatives serving thousands of citizens throughout Middle Tennessee. Notable programs include Music In My Neighborhood, Young Peoples Concerts, and, the Accelerando program, providing professional performance, educational, and career opportunities for students from underrepresented ethnicities in American orchestras. Find more at nashvillesymphony.org/education.
In addition to support from Metro Arts and Tennessee Arts Commission, Nashville Symphony is supported, in whole or in part, by federal award number SLFRP5534 awarded to the State of Tennessee by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Nashville Symphony is also supported in part by an American Rescue Plan Act grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support general operating expenses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information about the Nashville Symphony Schermerhorn Symphony Center, please visit nashvillesymphony.org.
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