Leadership change for Reilly Arts Center

Pamela Calero Wardell and Matthew Wardell, at the Reilly Arts Center. [Photo by MAVEN Photo + Film]

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Posted January 11, 2024 | By Susan Smiley-Height, susan@magnoliamediaco.com

Ocala has a long history of power couples and two of the modern set are making some moves. Pamela Calero Wardell, executive director of the Ocala Symphony Orchestra and the Reilly Arts Center, will become the senior director of development with The Jacksonville Symphony in February. Matthew Wardell, the longtime music director and conductor of the Ocala Symphony Orchestra will continue in that role but will step down as CEO. The couple will be moving to Jacksonville, presumably with their equally well-known canine rock star Buckley, a fixture around downtown Ocala.

Calero Wardell recently was accepted as one of six participants in the inaugural Anne Parsons Leadership Program, a mentor program designed to grow orchestra executives, and also graduated from the Essentials of Orchestra Management program through the Juilliard School.

“Pam’s impressive professional rise is, first and foremost, a testament to her excellence,” said R.J. Jenkins, president of the board of directors of the Reilly Arts Center, in the news release. “But it is also a testament to the Reilly Arts Center’s commitment to making sure that our talented team has the room, the resources and our blessing not only to grow, but to aspire. Pam’s aspirational journey is a jewel in the crown of our organization.”

“Words can’t describe the immense love and gratitude I have for the experience of serving as executive director of the Reilly Arts Center. When I started with the Ocala Symphony in 2014, I knew we were positioned for big things, but this organization has exceeded my expectations. I am so grateful to have had this unique opportunity to contribute to my hometown and a community of people that I love so dearly. I’m excited for this professional and personal change as I move to join the team at the Jacksonville Symphony. I carry with me invaluable lessons and memories from home. Undoubtedly, my dedication to supporting the Reilly, and this incredible team, remains unwavering,” Calero Wardell said in a text message late Thursday.

“While Matt will be stepping down as CEO as part of this transition and the Wardells’ move to Jacksonville, I am absolutely delighted to announce that he has enthusiastically agreed to stay on in his roles as music director and conductor of the Ocala Symphony Orchestra, a position he has held since 2009,” Jenkins noted in the release. “It is hard for me to put into words how profound a calming effect this has had on me as I consider this transition, and I am grateful, both to Matt and to Pamela, for conceiving of an arrangement that affords Pamela the freedom to pursue this opportunity while also ensuring key institutional memory and consistency for our organization, our donors and our patrons.”

“Pamela and I hold a profound love for this extraordinary organization, its incredible supporters, and the vibrant community that surrounds it. Witnessing firsthand the dedication, time and energy Pamela has given to us all, it is not surprising to me that she is taking this next step in her career. I am incredibly proud of her,” Wardell added in a text. “Ocala will always be home to us, and I am deeply grateful to continue my work here. Making music with the musicians of the Ocala Symphony Orchestra for an audience we absolutely adore is one of the greatest gifts I have known.”

According to the prepared statement, “The story of the Ocala Symphony Orchestra, and subsequently, of the Reilly Arts Center, is a story of growth, perseverance, transformation, and success. Pamela and Matt Wardell are the beating heart of that story. In 2015, a visionary renovation of the City Auditorium into the Reilly Arts Center created a new home for the Ocala Symphony Orchestra and a world-class arts venue for Ocala and Marion County that now hosts more than 180 events per year. In 2020, the Reilly Arts Center took over management of the historic Marion Theatre, which now has more than 700 film showings a year, monthly music and comedy shows, is used by the community for events, and is once again a strong and iconic contributor to the vibrancy of our downtown. In that same year, Pamela and Matt displayed uncommon leadership as they stewarded the Reilly Arts Center—a venue that depends upon live, in-person performances to thrive—through the worst pandemic in our lifetime. In 2021, as part of a major expansion of the Reilly’s facility, the Reilly opened the Community Music Conservatory, a long-time vision of the board of directors that offers instruction to students of all ages and skill levels, and the NOMA Black Box, which expanded the Reilly’s programming and community offerings to include charity events, jazz nights, dance parties, pop-up art exhibits and more.”

The Reilly Arts Center is currently in the late stages of a national search for an executive director, the release noted.