Nashville Symphony: Live Production

The finished stage for the Cody Fry concert: the orchestra on risers around a grand piano, holiday garlands on the balconies and a blank projection screen above — Cody Fry Christmas, 16 December 2025
Courtesy of Nashville Symphony

Client: Nashville SymphonyEmployer / venue
Year: August 2023 to present
Role: Stage Manager and Production Manager

Overview

As Stage Manager and Production Manager, I was the backstage conductor: the point person between the musicians on stage and every department behind them, including artist management, the artistic and production departments, front of house and ushers, lighting, audio and video. My job was to conduct the concert from a production standpoint, so the musicians could do exactly what they needed to do on stage, trusting that anything that went wrong would be handled.

The challenge

One of the biggest creative and logistical challenges I have taken on: running multiple concerts and projects at once.

Plot to stage

Cody Fry Christmas, 16 December 2025

Plot

Stage

Courtesy of Nashville Symphony

What I personally owned

Point person for the musicians, front of house and ushers, and every production department on a concert
Stage manager and production manager on the Symphony side
Top of show cues
Stage plot
Advance sheet
Coordinated backline

Production and logistics

With the Symphony: August 2023 to present
Stage Manager and Production Manager: November 2024 to November 2025 on staff, then the same work on contract

World premiere

Dolly Parton’s Threads: My Songs in Symphony

The world premiere of Threads. Dolly herself spoke at the top of the concert.

Performance: 20 March 2025, Schermerhorn Symphony Center
Rehearsal: 19 March 2025
My role: Stage Manager and Production Manager

Dolly Parton beside a grand piano, introducing Threads — About Threads
Video: Nashville Symphony, via Facebook

The orchestra and singers on the Schermerhorn stage beneath the Threads title screen — The last song of the world premiere
Video: Nashville Symphony, via Facebook

The stage set before the concert

My song cues on the stage manager console

Photograph of the performance

Kurt Heinecke, courtesy of Nashville Symphony

Photograph of the performance

Kurt Heinecke, courtesy of Nashville Symphony

Stage plot

Version 8

Notable productions

Stage Manager and Production Manager on every production listed

Audience video. I’m all the way on the left at 0:04, just after giving the tuning cue.
Filmed by an audience member, via YouTube
Jacob Collier + Chris Thile
Jacob Collier and special guest Chris Thile with Nashville Symphony
14 October 2025, Ascend Amphitheater
Cold weather threatened the 65 degrees the orchestra needs to play. I led the plan with the Symphony, Ascend and the artist’s management to heat the stage quietly and safely.
Ninety minutes before the downbeat
Kurt Heinecke, courtesy of Nashville Symphony
Let Freedom Sing! Music City July 4th
4 July 2025, Ascend Amphitheater
Itzhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman: Cinema Serenade
Itzhak Perlman + Giancarlo Guerrero
18 February 2025, Schermerhorn Symphony Center
Ray Chen
Guerrero Conducts Dvořák, Sibelius and Shostakovich
Ray Chen + Giancarlo Guerrero
22 to 23 November 2024, Schermerhorn Symphony Center
Guerrero’s Finale: Mahler’s Symphony of a Thousand
Giancarlo Guerrero
23 to 25 May 2025, Schermerhorn Symphony Center
Renée Fleming
Music and Mind: Healing, Social Connection, and the Power of Song
18 May 2026, Schermerhorn Symphony Center
Trisha Yearwood
Christmastime with Trisha Yearwood and the Nashville Symphony
2 to 3 December 2025, Schermerhorn Symphony Center
Cody Fry
Cody Fry Christmas
Cody Fry + Enrico Lopez-Yañez conducting
16 December 2025, Schermerhorn Symphony Center
Gladiator in Concert with the Nashville Symphony & Chorus
Hans Zimmer + Lisa Gerrard score, Justin Freer conducting
2 July 2025, Schermerhorn Symphony Center
Zlatomir Fung
Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony: Elgar’s Cello Concerto
Zlatomir Fung + Jonathan Taylor Rush
2 to 3 October 2025, Schermerhorn Symphony Center

Holiday Brass SpectacularDecember 2024
The Secret Sisters + Maggie RoseThe Secret Sisters & Maggie Rose with the Nashville Symphony: An AMERICANAFEST Special Event9 September 2025
David Robertson + Orli ShahamNew World Symphony: Opening Weekend with David Robertson19 to 21 September 2025
Jamey JohnsonJamey Johnson Symphony In The South with the Nashville Symphony17 to 18 October 2025
J’Nai BridgesReflections and Hope24 to 25 October 2025
Indigo GirlsIndigo Girls with Members of the Nashville Symphony26 October 2025
Star Wars: A New Hope in Concert31 October to 2 November 2025
Verdi’s Requiem with the Nashville Symphony Chorus6 to 8 November 2025
Pacho FloresGuerrero’s Return: A Hero’s Life20 to 21 November 2025

Behind the scenes

A walkthrough of the Notion hub I built to track progress on advancing concerts.

Percussion Technician program

The Percussion Technician role had no clear structure: what it covered, what it required, or how anyone was trained for it. I wrote a 24-page handbook for the role, established clear procedures, and ran a training day ahead of the new season.