Building a Destination for the Arts in Ocala: Matt & Pamela Wardell

Hear from a real power couple for music and the arts in Ocala. From the opening of the Reilly Arts Center in 2015, to the recent expansion and creation of the Community Music Conservatory, Matt and Pamela Wardell have truly created a destination for the arts in Ocala. 

Nonprofits featured in this episode: The Reilly Arts Center, the Marion Theater, and the Ocala Symphony Orchestra Community Music Conservatory

Pamela Calero Wardell
Pamela is a seasoned performing arts management professional. She became Executive Director for the Ocala Symphony Orchestra in April 2014, and led the organization through a capital campaign to build and open the Reilly Arts Center, a 700-seat performing arts center that serves as the permanent home of the Ocala Symphony Orchestra, in October 2015. During her tenure with the Ocala Symphony, she has led two capital campaigns raising more than $9 million for building and expansion, directed two institutional rebrands, launched the Symphony’s first Community Music Conservatory, and was instrumental in taking management of Ocala's historic Marion Theatre. Pamela serves on the board for several organizations including Pace Center for Girls Marion and the Ocala Municipal Arts Commission and is currently a participant in the Anne Parsons Leadership Program as well as the Essentials of Orchestra Management Program through the League of American Orchestras. Honors include the FPRA Communicator of the Year Award, Emerging Leader of the Year by the Marion County Chamber, and the Marion Cultural Alliance Spirit Award. Pamela holds a master’s in business administration from Webster University and a Bachelor's degree in Public Relations from the University of Florida. Pamela is an avid lover of music, cinema, and animals. 

Matt Wardell
Matt has served as the Music Director and Conductor of the Ocala Symphony Orchestra since 2009. He is a member of the College Orchestra Directors Association and the American Symphony Orchestra League. In addition to his success at the podium and in the orchestra pit, Matt has been a driving focus behind the creation and successive expansion of the Reilly Arts Center, the NOMA black box, and the Ocala Symphony Community Music Conservatory. Born in Jacksonville, Florida, Matt received his Bachelor of Music at the University of North Florida, and subsequent Masters and Doctoral degrees from the University of Florida. Matt spent five summers at the Pierre Monteux School for Conductors and Orchestra Musicians in Hancock, Maine under renowned conducting teacher Michael Jinbo. He has been recognized as both an Osher and Quimby Family Foundation scholar. Matt has also had the privilege to participate in master classes with Keith Lockhart of the Boston Pops and BBC Orchestra. Matt serves or has served on a number of boards including Arts in Health Ocala/Marion, Ocala Municipal Arts Commission (OMAC), and Young Professionals of Ocala (YPO). He was elected to Ocala’s City Council in 2015, where he served from six years. Matt and his wife, Pamela have one dog, Buckley. They enjoy traveling together and are both actively involved in serving their community.

The Catalyst is hosted by the Ocala Metro Chamber & Economic Partnership, sponsored by Douglas Law Firm and recorded live at Wiley Productions podcast studios, located in Ocala, Florida. New episodes, guests, and perspectives of leadership premiere twice a month. Follow us on Apple, Amazon, Spotify, or wherever you enjoy podcasts.

Transcript

Intro
The Catalyst. A CEP Podcast on bold leadership in the Ocala Metro, hosted by the Ocala Metro Chamber and Economic Partnership. Sponsored by Douglas law firm and recorded live at Wiley Productions podcast studios located in Ocala, Florida. 

 Natalie McComb:
Welcome to the Catalyst. I'm your host Natalie McComb, vice president for the Ocala Metro Chamber and Economic Partnership Foundation. I'm joined today by a real power couple for music and the arts in Ocala, Pamela and Matt Wardell. Great to have you on the show! Thanks for being here. 

So you've been making wonderful music together both on the stage and behind the scenes for nearly a decade. Matt, you as CEO artistic director, and conductor of the Ocala Symphony Orchestra, and Pamela, as executive director. You both now lead the Reilly Arts Center, which was restored and reimagined from the old Ocala City Auditorium in 2015. Pamela, what was the tipping point for that project? When did you know, hey this is really going to happen, we're really going to open this facility. 

Pamela Wardell:
Well, I remember I was actually at a cep event and I had just heard that the symphony wanted to start raising money to build Reilly Arts Center. I saw Matt there, and I said I would love to be a part of this project. I knew it was going to happen. I have been a lifelong Ocala resident I know it needed to happen. I jumped right in, of course, couldn't hire me immediately but eventually, there was a space open and I came in and I just knew we needed this. This was going to be the start of something big and even at that time, we didn't know how big it was going to be. How many people would be involved, and how many people could be involved for the arts. So, that was kind of my entree into the Reilly Arts Center. 

Natalie McComb:
Matt, what was your biggest hurdle in finally securing this as the permanent home for the Ocala Symphony Orchestra? 

Matt Wardell:
You know, I think it was almost like just like a real hurdle race. It was a series of things. There wasn't one thing that was the toughest, but obviously funding is sort of the elephant in the room. Once we had a name donor, Bob Reilly, who committed to a really sizable chunk to get us started. That made it feel like okay this can happen. But, then you have all those smaller hurdles of it. It was a public-private partnership with the city, which was great in that the city was helpful and making that work for us. But, even in a great situation, there's still a lot of little things to kind of negotiate and figure out so for us. That was some of the stuff that was tough to navigate honestly, before Pamela was on board. We all had some vision, we had some energy, and financially the city was backing it. With her coming on from her perspective, she's a great organizer of energy and talent. That really was important, kind of getting it to the finish line. So, that sort of put it all together and it was a really fun thing to be a part of. 

Natalie McComb:
And, it's been shared that the Reilly project was “bigger than us.” What did you mean by that?

Matt Wardell:
We always knew we weren't just looking for a home for the symphony. So that was the catalyst, not to name-drop the podcast…

Natalie McComb:
Well, there you. Appreciate that, haha.

Matt Wardell:
But that was the catalyst for us to get into the project. The symphony had been around since 1975, and we didn’t have a permanent home. We had played at CF, we played at OBS, which was really great especially because you could smell the hay in the air.

Natalie McComb:
Call it ambiance, right?

Matt Wardell:
Yeah it was great and everyone once in a while you could hear a nay in the background. However,  when we got to see the auditorium and really studied that project we also knew that it shouldn't just be home for us. And it was really important. We wanted to be downtown, we wanted to be in the heart of Ocala so that we can attract from all areas. The West and the East. We wanted to be part of sort of the change that we felt, we smelt, in the air at that time and 2014-15 we knew there was some growth happening. We wanted that place, the Reilly, to be somewhere where we could be there, other community groups could come in and give events. We wanted obviously, national artists and we wanted our whole community to be there. I think that first project did it, and then it was sort of the later expansion…which I know we'll talk about…that really sort of put the icing on that cake. It helped it really be something for everyone.

Natalie McComb:
Yeah, and the Reilly continues to be that anchor, and change agent for Tuscawilla Park. With more development coming to the south end of the park, with the new brewery and restaurant concept, as well. How important do you think this redevelopment around the Tuscawilla Park area is to the future success of the Reilly?

Matt Wardell:
It's really important. I mean when we started the project we really had that Field of Dreams mentality, if you build it they will come you know. And we had some naysayers. There were some issues in the park, it just wasn’t used a lot. It was an empty feeling sometimes. When we got there, we feel like that changed a lot. And then as we've seen these developments come around, you know the Art Apartments, which brought 30 or 40 units to Tuscawilla Park to people living there now. Seeing the fire station project to the brewery, hearing about some of the things that are going to happen really just a stones throw from us with The Forge, and all those things.  It's really important and it adds to we're doing. We talked with and are close with all of those developers and we have these conversations that we can't wait till you're there and let's find ways to partner and all those kinds of things. Anytime we go to a concert out of town what do we do? We usually go out to eat beforehand. We hope there's a place late night with something really bad, like tacos or something like….

Natalie McComb:
A little bit of grease right?

Matt Wardell:
Yeah, something that's really going soak up what we may or may not have drank earlier, but no we want to feel that you make an event out of it. And, we really feel like now you're able to do that in downtown Ocala. There really is something to do for everybody.

Natalie McComb
And in 2020, the Riley also stepped in to save another historic building, the Marion Theater in downtown Ocala. Pamela, why was saving this facility important to you both and to your board? I'm sure you had to get some buy-in from them as well.

Pamela Wardell:
Yeah I mean the Marion Theater means so much to so many people in Ocala for years. You know it's served a lot of different purposes, but I think we are so fortunate to have a historic theater in the middle of our downtown and it should be used as a theater, as a destination space. So, we were excited. We loved what the Soto’s were doing and definitely didn't want to see it go dark, so when the city approached us we were all on board. And, we may have had a plan already in place…

Natalie McComb:
Kind of waiting in wings huh?

Matt Wardell:
Oh, what’s this? Yeah, haha.

Pamela Wardell:
Yeah, we may have cooked something up before. It's a place that deserves to be cherished in our community and we're excited to be the torch bearers of this space, with the classics, with the second run films, with the live events, our goal was really to use that space to infuse energy and connectivity with all of the other businesses downtown. One doesn't work without the other. So, it's really our honor to manage it. Adam Volpe, who is the venue manager there right now on our team, he does a great job, and he loves it. Our entire team loves the theater, so it's good to know we have people who care about the theater. People who care about it downtown and want to see it available for everyone. 

Natalie McComb:
That's a great event space too. I understand that you can rent it out for corporate events as well, and I know one of the series that you have there…and as a parent I find it really cool…is all the children's movies which are really affordable for families to come and bring their kids. How important are the partnerships you’ve built? I'm sure it's not cheap to run the theater so how important are those community partnerships to allowing you to continue that programming?

 Pamela Wardell:
They’re crucial. So each month we have corporate partnerships, sponsors, who come in, and we like to call them partnerships because…you know that organization is able to do a night for their employees, or for the community…but like you said it's not exactly a money maker. But, all of those sponsorships really help us provide great programming, help us enhance the programming, help us do things like Sensory Saturdays, that are there for individuals who may need those accommodations. And, we're going to be doing a Sci-Fi family night in September. So, for us to do those fun things we do need those corporate partnerships. And, then we hope that those businesses are able to use what we have at the theater to engage with the community, to engage with their employees. We are always hoping it's a win-win. 

Natalie McComb:
Obviously, a lot of this takes a lot of planning, a lot of strategy, but also massive capital campaigns. So, you undertook a big capital campaign to build the Reilly, but again you didn't rest very long on that, you all looked and said, you know what I think we need an additional 15,000 square feet of space and the Community Music Conservatory. So, what made you both embark on such an ambitious project, that's really expanded the footprint of the Reilly.

Matt Wardell:
Once the Reilly was done, we really did feel like it was a big accomplishment. And we spent, I mean so much time there. When we opened there we had three employees, it was Pamela, myself, and our friend Evan who's now got his PhD. He's doing some great work with Opera in Philadelphia now, but it was three of us and we were there all the time. And now our team has grown, I think now we've got 35 or so folks on board, but we knew right then from the beginning that the space was great and we're just not the kind of folks to say okay we're done. We are like, “what's next?” and so the community outreach portion of it and and being able to connect with people really started to drive this idea of a Music Conservatory would be great. A community school where people could come and learn about music, from all ages, and that was a concept that is hard to find other places. We have cello students for instance in the conservatory that are six years old and we have some that are 86 and they play together sometimes, which is really really exciting to see. So, we knew that was driving it. The Black Box space was a really cool space, that we had so many inquiries for people wanting to do events that we couldn't really accommodate in our traditional 700 seat theater. We had a lot of the other events that we wanted to produce like great comedians and fun regional comics and stuff where, yeah you'll get an audience of 250 which is a great audience for a comedy show, but in a 700 seat auditorium that feels a little awkward. So we wanted a space that could be flexible and when we knew right away we want to do it. And then the second conversation, the pandemic happens you know. So 2020 we/re literally the first business to be closed down and the last one to be able to reopen as a sort of a large public gathering space. So during that time we really had a lot of questions. We had already known we wanted to expand, but then when we didn't know what was going on. Are concerts going to be a thing again? Or, you know is a big space the right thing to do? And, I remember we had our board president, RJ Jenkins over one night. We're kind of sitting around outside on the back patio, and we were doing well financially then. We've always kind of prided ourselves on being fiscal responsible. We are a non-profit, but that doesn't mean you…

Natalie McComb:
You still have to make a profit, as we know.

Matt Wardell:
Yeah. We still have lots of employees to pay and artists to pay and all that. So we were sitting at the beginning of 2020, we were doing okay. We had some good reserves built up. Annually our finances were good. And we are starting to maybe undertake this construction project, and I remember sitting there that night going maybe we shouldn’t honestly. Maybe we shouldn't, you know. We've got some money in the bank right now, maybe we should kind of wait this thing out. 

Pamela Wardell:
I think it came down to what does our mission look like and what do we want our mission to be. And our mission was also to educate. Bring people in and provide a place for people to learn about the arts. Provide a place where people can experience the arts differently. Personally, I love jazz. So, having jazz nights, you know. Also finding the Black Box as another revenue stream is important, talking about that fiscal responsibility. And then it was just taking a risk, and once you jumped, we had to jump. I always thank and recognize our board, because they were like you guys let's go, let's do it, and we were all,

Natalie McComb:   
And what advice would you have for other non-profit leaders who may find soliciting big six-figure naming opportunities intimidating? Anything you would have to say to them?

Pamela Wardell:
Two things. I think number one, you need to show passion. If you don't believe in your project, no one else is going to believe in it. Number two, be clear and transparent. 

Matt Wardell:
And remember what your mission is. And that’s what we always go back to. When I first got into the business of having to ask folks to support something i’m doing you feel, I feel awkward. I mean just asking this person for money, but then you realize what's not for me. It's not for Pamela. No it's for this mission and if like Pam says, if you believe in that mission in align yourself with donors who also support that mission, then it's actually really easy. I mean, it can be easy to ask. And remember, you never get anything if you don't ask. That's the reality. There's people that I think have supported us, but by the time they came on board it was almost like they were, “why haven't you asked me before? You know I've been sitting here with a checkbook out.” But, we also… and Pamela's so good at this… we really truly do like to develop relationships. Not just with our donors, but with all of our patrons. The people who come. We never see it as transactional. I think people can smell that like a mile away. We all kind of get that sort of sleazy sales vibe. You don't like that, you know. So we really make sure that when we're interacting with our donors and all of our patrons that we're genuine, we're transparent, and I think that's really important. I think that's why many of our larger donors, those naming rights folks, those six-figures and above, they've given more than once because they I think they believe in our mission. They know that we are also, we're working really hard to make their donation mean something to the community.

Natalie McComb:
And what plans do you have for the facility and its programming in the next few years? What's coming down the pike?

Pamela Wardell:
I'll go first. The school, I am so excited about Community Music Conservatory. Our first year open we had 120 students. Our mission is, at any age and any skill level you can learn an instrument. You can learn more about music. You can learn music with others. So, right now we have Kinder music for Pre-K and babies. We also are just starting a New Horizons band in the fall, which is for seniors. So anyone 18 and plus who is not a professional but maybe played flute for one year in middle school, and you want to pick it back up. You can come and join the New Horizons band. We're also launching a middle school band. Middle school we're finding is an age where students…it's kind of crucial if you're going to be in music…and that's where we're kind of lacking some of those outside-of-school music opportunities. So we're starting that at the school. I'm just excited to see that program grow. I think the more that we can do to educate and get people involved in music the better that our community is, and it helps the Reilly Arts Center overall. We just have people who are excited about music and you don't have to be a vocational musician. We have people who are there playing cello, and learning how to play the cello for the first time, and they're in their 30’s. They're not planning on going and playing with the New York Philharmonic they're just doing it because they love it and they want to learn something new. So I think that's a really important program.

Natalie McComb:
So why do you think Ocala is well positioned for growth in music in the arts? 

Matt Wardell:
I think, you know Ocala has some really great fundamental building blocks to having a really active, successful, growing, energetic, and vibrant arts community. For one we've got resources and organizations like the Appleton Museum of Art, the Ocala Civic Theater, now the symphony and the Reilly, and the Marion Theater. Things like MCA, and you have all these sort of anchor points, and FAFO with the art show, that when you look at big cities they have these things. You know a large city that's a growing city they have a great museum. The Appleton is such a hidden gym, I mean even people that live in Gainesville or just south of us, I don't think they realize what we have there at the Appleton. I don't think it realize that the OCT  is one of the greatest Community Theaters in the country right now, in Ocala. I mean literally, it's top five top six you know when it's ranked. And then of course the Reilly, we have national artist and all that. So we've got all that going on. We have a community, you know not necessary directly related organizations, outside of those people you've got a community of people that come from all over the country. We have…you know depending on where you are in town…like out west we have  more of a retiree community, more of a transplant community, but they're all coming. A lot of them are coming from major cities, from places like New York City, Chicago, and Boston, and they're used to a vibrant arts community and used to supporting a vibrant arts community. And then I think we have employers and businesses in town and folks are coming here that also recognize a great arts community, a vibrant downtown, and that these are recruiting tools for the folks that they're bringing. So as as our wonderful hospitals are bringing in doctors and specialists, as as places like E-One and Signature Brands, they want to bring in executives and stuff these are the questions they are going to ask. So those companies know that, so they help support the arts as well. I think that's not to say we’re the only city that has that, but I think all those pieces in one place makes it pretty unique. 

Natalie McComb:
What show are you most excited for? I know you got the good ones coming. 

Pamela Wardell:
I am most excited, number one is Madeline Perot. She's coming in Novembe.r If anyone's not familiar with her, you probably are if you ever been to La Cuisine. You probably hear her over in the background music. I actually saw her at the Sony theater in New York a couple years ago. I've been following her for about 15 years she's amazing. She's going to be fantastic performance and she's one of those performers that I feel it's not, you know, it's a tribute it's not something you might know right away. But, if you come you will leave the concert saying wow that was great. I feel good inside. I feel energized by music.

Matt Wardell:
I really feel that, I need to say, that I'm really excited about the the orchestra season. I feel like everyone of the orchestra concerts it's kind of like you know we've all had maybe French food we've all had Mexican food, maybe Peruvian Food and I feel like each Orchestra concerts is a totally new food group. 

Natalie McComb:
Expanding your palate right?

Matt Wardell:
Yeah, and it's just so exciting to me cuz yeah I want to try that. I might not like it. I might like it. Every concert has something like that on it, so I'm always really excited. Especially the first concert we're doing this incredible piece, Mahler’s First Symphony that traditionally you think of that one of those top hat and monical pieces. It's not man, and it's about life, it's about spring, it's about all the things that we go through as people. Questioning ourselves, wanting to find solutions to problems. It's really cool. Then that's paired with a brand new work by a great Florida composer Paul Richards, called the Breath of Life. Where you know during the pandemic, you’re  sitting around and breath is like constantly on our minds. We're thinking about respirators and all these kinds of things. So he writes this 20 minute piece for baritone, obviously voice using a lot of breath and orchestra that uses texts all over. From Jewish folklore, all the way to COVID mandates, all kinds of things. I’m really excited about that.

Natalie McComb:
And now a word from our sponsor…

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Natalie McComb:
Well this is the most exciting part of the podcast, at least for me. It’s our Lightning Round Questions, and I had some fun putting this together today because I'm doing a couples version. So a little bit of back and forth between the two of you, but we'll have a little bit of fun with it. So Pamela, one word to describe Matt?

Pamela Wardell:
Exciting. 

Matt Wardell: 
I'm excitable. I don't know if I'm exciting. 

Pamela Wardell:
Every day is something different.  

Natalie McComb:
Matt, what do you think is Pamela's biggest strength that she brings to the Reilly.

Matt Wardell: 
Her ability to be considerate of and care about our team, and get our team to coalesce around our mission. That's something that I think is something we can learn about in trainings, and we can work on that skill set, but it's also something that I think the natural leader is born with. I think Pam has that quality that may not come naturally to all of us, and it's really cool to see that and see our team shape around that. 

Natalie McComb:
Pamela, what trait do you value most for members of your team?

Pamela Wardell:
Kindness. Being kind, considerate, thoughtful, those are all really important. I think you can learn how to do a job, you can learn a process, but being thoughtful and kind to your peers and to yourself is really big. That's something that is really important when I'm hiring and looking to build our team.  

Natalie McComb:
Matt, what mentor do you think had the biggest influence on your music career?

Matt Wardell: 
Yeah that's an easy one for me. My friend, Dr. Raymond Chobaz, who was my teacher at UF when I was there for my undergrad. Then when I came back to do my doctorate, he was my doctoral advisor. His approach to music making and respect for this great art, classical music has been around in its current form for 450 years or so, and the way that that he approaches music and kind of installed on me a genuineness and a responsibility.I'm interpreting something that was written 300 years ,I have sort of a responsibility to those blobs of ink on the page. What that means is really special and he's just a really funny and nice guy. Always kind to his students, and to the people that play Orchestra. So he had and still has a huge impact on me.

Natalie McComb:
Pamela, dream artist to book at the Reilly?

Pamela Wardell:
Michael Kiwanuka. I don't know if you've heard Michael Kiwanuka, but Natalie you love him if you don't know him look him up. I think the first time I heard one of his albums I was like, he would be fabulous in the Reilly. And then he just got really big. But, yeah maybe we'll put it out there into the ether and it'll come true.

Natalie McComb:
How can our listeners find out more about the Reilly and support it?

Pamela Wardell:
Definitely go on to our website reillyartscenter.com or you can find us on Instagram, Facebook, Reilly Arts Center. We are constantly posting things on there, what's coming up. We have a weekly email that you can sign up for, but like Matt said earlier we are booking new shows pretty much every other week. So, there's always something new. You can check the website one day, and check back you know another week and you'll find something new on there.

Matt Wardell:
Everything from the Reilly, the symphony, and the Marion are all on that one website.

Pamela Wardell:
And our school. The school schedule is on there too.

Natalie McComb:
That’s wonderful. Well thank you Pamela and Matt for being on the show today. We really appreciate your time and again check out the Reilly Arts Center and the Marion Theater. All the wonderful things going on in the arts and music in Ocala. Thank you guys again.

Closing:

Thank you for joining us for another episode of The Catalyst, hosted by the Ocala Metro Chamber and Economic Partnership. Sponsored by Douglas Law Firm and recorded live at Wiley Productions podcast studios. New episodes, guests, and perspectives on leadership premiere twice a month. Follow up on Apple, Amazon, Spotify, or wherever you enjoy your podcasts. Have a suggestion for a future guest? Email us at thecatalyst@ocalacep.com.