Meet Dr. Sarah K. Crocker of Hillnote Music

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Sarah K. Crocker.

Hi Dr. Crocker, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.

I was born and raised in Franklin, TN and began taking harp lessons when I was 7 years old. I heard a harpist perform at my church at age 6 and fell in love with the sound, telling my mother, “It just does something to my soul.” I developed a love for performing as well as teaching harp at a young age; I started teaching lessons in 9th grade.

I studied harp throughout college and graduate school, and have a B.M., M.M., and D.M.A. in Harp Performance with Musicology cognate from The University of Alabama. Having loved growing up here, I always wanted to end up back in Franklin and upon completion of my doctorate in 2013, I was able to move back and settle here. I began teaching a few private harp students and music courses at MTSU in Fall 2013 and performing for symphony orchestras, churches, weddings, and events.

After a few years, my performance career and teaching studio had grown substantially, but I also started noticing how many inquiries about harp services I began receiving: questions about how to sell or buy a harp, how to restring or regulate a harp, harp appraisals and rentals, etc. On January 1, 2017, I founded Hillnote Music to fill this niche market. My business has three divisions: the Hillnote Harp Academy, Hillnote Weddings and Events, and Hillnote Harps.

Over the last seven years, Hillnote Music has grown tremendously thanks to wonderful students and customers. I am fortunate to teach private lessons to 20-25 students per semester ranging in age from 5 to 65, perform and curate customized music for about 50+ events and ensembles per year, and provide a range of harp services: consigned harp sales, harp rental and appraisal, harp restringing and minor repair, lever harp regulations, harp transportation, and more! As of 2024, I have sold almost 40 consigned harps and rented, appraised, and serviced countless others.

I am also honored to teach as an Adjunct Professor of Harp at Belmont University since 2020, Lipscomb University since 2016, as well as maintaining my position at MTSU since 2013.

https://hillnotemusic.com/meet-dr-sarah.html
https://hillnotemusic.com/our-story.html

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Any small business, especially with a single owner, takes an incredible amount of time and effort to build. You are often working 7 days a week at all hours of the day! Without a true passion for the service or product, it would be nearly impossible.

When I moved back in 2013, I started out working at a shop in downtown Franklin as my main source of income and performed many events for free to get my name out there, but I am extremely grateful that overall my growth has been very steady over the years. Even when live performances stopped in 2020, I was thankful to be able to keep going with virtual lessons and harp services!

Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Thank you so much for this opportunity to share about the business I have had the joy of building over the last 10 years!

Pricing:

• Harp Performance: $375 and up
• Weddings: $450 and up
• Harp Lessons: $90/hour
• Harp Services: $100/hour

Contact Info:

• Website: https://hillnotemusic.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hillnotemusic

Image Credits
Hillnote Music Dawn Wallace, Daybreak Photo Co., Nathan Zucker, and North Mississippi Symphony Orchestra