It was 1975 and a group of local musicians and community arts supporters thought Ocala was ready for its own orchestra. They brought the musicians together and scheduled four concerts for their inaugural season.
The Ocala Symphony Orchestra would go on to grow and become a crown jewel of the Ocala cultural arts scene. But it did not have a permanent home, and certainly not one designed to host a quality symphony orchestra.
Fast forward 40 years. After decades of growth – and serving as an impetus for the evolution of Ocala’s cultural arts movement – the OSO finally got a permanent home when the Reilly Center for the Arts opened in 2015.
With help from the City of Ocala, the former Depression-era Ocala City Auditorium in Tuscawilla Park underwent a $3 million renovation and opened in 2015 as the Reilly Arts Center – named after Robert Reilly, who donated $700,000 to the effort.
So, this year, Ocala is celebrating not only the 50th anniversary of the Ocala Symphony Orchestra, but the 10th anniversary of the orchestra’s long-awaited permanent home, the 704-seat Reilly Center.
“The Reilly Arts Center is home to the Ocala Symphony Orchestra,” said Natalie McComb, the Reilly’s executive director since 2024. “Actually, the Reilly was founded by the Ocala Symphony – that’s where it all started.”
The symphony, for its part, has also grown exponentially in recent years under the leadership of Matthew Wardell, the orchestra’s conductor and musical director. Wardell, who joined the symphony in 2009, has been a driving force in not only expanding the symphony’s size and breadth but also in leading the charge to build the Reilly and develop outreach programs to grow the presence of music among all people in our community.
When Wardell joined the OSO as conductor, the orchestra was doing five or six performances a year. Today, he and his ensemble stage about 20 performances a year.
And as the OSO has continued to grow, so has the Reilly. In 2022, the arts facility underwent a $4.5 million, 30,000-square-foot expansion that included the intimate Black Box Theater. The expansion also included the Community Music Conservatory, classrooms for music classes, summer camps and more.
“Ocala is a happening place for the arts,” McComb said. “People can come to the Reilly to experience various performances and leave with something new.”
With the expansion of the Reilly and its programs, Wardell sees cultural growth in the community as well.
“It’s more than just playing music,” he said. “It’s also about the community, whether we’re teaching or entertaining.”
Wardell and McComb said the OSO is not your typical symphony orchestra. One-fourth of its members are new each year, and they travel from all over Florida to be a part of it.
“They’re here because they’re passionate about the arts – they want to be here,” McComb said.
Wardell notes another unique aspect of OSO: that his music selection is largely driven by the preferences of the audience and the musicians themselves.
“The conducting part is one thing, but really the music selection is a huge part of my job as maestro,” he said, adding that engagement from the audience through storytelling and emotion is important to him.
“I love having some sort of thread through concerts, something that connects the pieces and the music.”
Celebrated for its tremendous acoustics, the Reilly Center is a place where Ocalans have found they can find a wide array of entertainment, from comics and jazz to tribute bands and the symphony playing classical music. Truly a center for the arts.
“People come here, and they leave with a smile, and sometimes it’s really just as simple as that,” McComb said.
