$1 million partnership
AdventHealth Ocala is making a substantial donation to the Reilly Arts Center over the next 10 years.
Matthew Wardell, the music director and conductor of the Ocala Symphony Orchestra, right, and Erika Skula, the president and CEO of AdventHealth Ocala, left, listen during the renaming of the AdventHealth Mainstage at the Reilly Arts Center in Ocala, Fla. on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. AdventHealth will donate $1 million over the next 10 years to support the center and its programs. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2025.
A new page has turned in the ever-evolving story of the Reilly Arts Center. On June 25, an extended partnership between the center and AdventHealth Ocala was announced, with the healthcare organization donating $1 million over the next 10 years to support the Ocala Symphony Orchestra and its home, the Reilly Arts Center.
“The gift will support the operations of the center and allow the Reilly to continue delivering inspiring performances, educational programs and community-centered initiatives through music and the performing arts,” according to materials shared to the “Gazette” by the center’s Executive Director Natalie McComb, CFRE.
As part of the arrangement, an event at the center on Wednesday celebrated the renaming of the main performance platform as the AdventHealth Mainstage.
The center at one time served as the city auditorium and events held there included proms, parties, meetings, wrestling matches and much more. After a $3.4 million renovation of the auditorium, which honored its Art Deco roots, the Reilly Arts Center opened in 2015. The center is named for Robert Reilly, a patron of the arts who donated $700,000 toward the renovation in memory of his late wife, Bonnie. Following a subsequent $4 million expansion, the Reilly in 2021 showed off its doubled footprint and rolled out its Community Music Conservatory.
The roots of the AdventHealth Ocala hospital go back to 1898, when the publisher of the “Ocala Evening Star” newspaper, who owned a three-story building at Fort King and Osceola, offered the top floor as a home for Marion General Hospital. In 1901, the hospital moved to a building at Adams and Orange streets, now Northwest Second Street and First Avenue. A move was made in 1915 to a new building on South Orange Street and, in 1927, a 73-bed hospital was built and named Munroe Memorial Hospital. In 1965, the Florida Legislature created the Marion County Hospital District as a governmental agency to oversee healthcare for local residents. The MCHD owned Munroe Memorial as a public hospital. In 1980, it was renamed Munroe Regional Medical Center. In 2014, Community Health Systems took over operations. CHS later sold the lease to Adventist Health System. In 2019, the facility name became AdventHealth Ocala.
According to McComb, unveiling the newly named AdventHealth Mainstage marks the beginning of an expanded partnership between AdventHealth Ocala and the Reilly Arts Center.
“This milestone sponsorship deepens the long-standing relationship between the organizations and reinforces their shared commitment to the health and cultural vitality of the Ocala community,” she stated in a news release.
“At AdventHealth, we believe that healing extends beyond hospital walls. By supporting the performing arts, we help nurture the mind, uplift the spirit, and strengthen the well-being of our community—because whole-person care includes the power of creative expression,” said AdventHealth Ocala President & CEO Erika Skula in the release.
The Ocala Symphony Orchestra will present its 50th anniversary season this fall and its tenth year at the Reilly Arts Center.
“This partnership with AdventHealth Ocala is a powerful example of how health and the arts intersect to enhance the well-being of our community. We are deeply grateful for their investment, which ensures the Reilly Arts Center remains a home for creativity, connection and celebration for years to come,” McComb noted in the release.
On Wednesday, McComb welcomed event attendees and shared that the two organizations first partnered together in 2022, with a sponsorship designed to support OSO programming and provide AdventHealth team members with opportunities to experience live performances at the Reilly.
“Since then, our partnership has continued to grow, with the Reilly hosting the first Ocala performance of the AdventHealth Orchestra, a group comprised of musically talented physicians, clinicians, and team members across the AdventHealth system. This past season, we were grateful for their sponsorship of an orchestra subscription concert weekend, the return performance of Handel’s Messiah and their support of our mission to increase access to classical music performance through our open rehearsal program,” she shared in an email to the “Gazette.”
Skula recalled that as a new member of the community and sitting in the center for a performance, she was moved not just by the music but by the sense of community.
“At AdventHealth, our mission to heal our community extends far beyond the walls of a hospital. We know that healing comes in many forms. It happens in acts of care, yes—but also in connection, in joy and in inspiration. The arts bring all of those elements together, creating spaces where people feel renewed in mind, body, and spirit. This is a special moment for our organization, and also for me personally. As a percussionist and a proud member of the AdventHealth Orchestra, I have seen firsthand how music can unite, uplift, and heal. I know what it means to be part of something larger than yourself—to make something beautiful that resonates far beyond the notes on the page,” she shared through an email.
The center’s board chair, Angie Lewis, spoke to those gathered and longtime maestro of the OSO, Matthew Wardell, also made remarks before turning the program over to Ocala Mayor Ben Marciano, who offered a prayer.
The Reilly Arts Center is located at 500 NE 9th St., Ocala, where it offers a wide variety of entertainment options. The leadership team also manages the historic Marion Theatre in downtown Ocala.
To learn more, go to reillyartcenter.com and adventhealth.com/hospital/adventhealth-ocala
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