Class of 12 Jessica Mallow Gulley: Making Magical Music Memories

Making Magical Music Memories

Sometimes you don’t end up performing the musical score you’ve envisioned for your life. Sometimes you end up unexpectedly rearranging the score and it becomes something even better — a beautiful symphony. Such is the case for Jessica Mallow Gulley ’12, whose musical journey has taken her places she never imagined.

“If you had told me in 2012 that a determined opera singer would be the CEO of a symphony orchestra, I might have laughed,” said Gulley. “But sometimes, your path finds you, as mine did, and I realized it was the perfect balance for all the skills and training I worked so hard to acquire.”

As president & CEO of the Kalamazoo (Mich.) Symphony, Gulley says she wears many hats. She plays the role of visionary, fundraiser, musical program designer, community partnership builder and more while overseeing a team of 380 employees.

Pursuing Innovation

Each year, Gulley works with more than 30 community partners to build symphony programs, which leads to many “cool” experiences.

“I get to work on commissions for new pieces of music with artists like Branford Marsalis, produce operas, create ballet productions and imagine new kinds of shows that keep the symphony relevant,” said Gulley. “We just produced our first hip-hop show with more than 25 local artists featured.”

Gulley’s original plan was to get a master’s degree in voice and become an opera performer. But after graduating from Simpson, she took a summer internship at Orchestra Iowa, where she fell in love with managing orchestras. So, she changed career course by earning a Master of Arts Management degree from American University while also working full time for the Washington (D.C.) Performing Arts.

After earning her master’s, Gulley enjoyed a four-year fundraising role with the Jacksonville (Fla.) Symphony, which led to accepting her current role — just three months before COVID rocked the world. She’s grateful for the Simpson education that taught her how to navigate extremely challenging, unchartered waters.

“In my multiple roles, I’m forced to stretch my brain over many different knowledge areas and activities. My music and marketing training I received at Simpson serves me well. Simpson gave me the solid foundation of opportunities to explore my skills, start my career early and gain the knowledge I use every day.”