SYMPHONY NOTES
Where Holiday Memories Begin By Tori Fusinaz For generations, the Jacksonville Symphony has helped families celebrate the season through music, creating memories that last long after the final note. Every family has its holiday traditions. Maybe it’s unpacking ornaments that have been passed down for generations, pulling out recipes that only appear once a year, or watching the same holiday movie every December. For me, it was...
Ritz Chamber Players
Celebrate 25 Years of Expanding the Stage A landmark Silver Jubilee Season honors the extraordinary journey of a Jacksonville-born ensemble while opening the door to its next quarter-century. Twenty-five years ago, the Ritz Chamber Players (RCP) opened a door that classical music had kept too narrow for too long. Through it came extraordinary Black musicians, overlooked masterworks, new music, and audiences invited to hear the...
Igniting Downtown Through Public Art
The Story Behind Frank Stella’s Jacksonville Stacked Stars Written by Amber Sesnick, Director of Communications, Arts UNF & MOCA Jacksonville If you have explored downtown Jacksonville this summer, you may have been stopped in your tracks by a monumental new work of public art in the heart of the city. Standing at nearly three stories tall, “Jacksonville Stacked Stars,” created by Frank Stella and installed just...
Jacksonville’s Museum Jacksonville’s Moment
By Amy Pierce, Chief Development Officer, Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens Jacksonville is growing quickly. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 population estimates, the city has crossed the one-million-resident threshold. It is an exciting milestone, and it offers an important opportunity to think not only about how much we are growing, but about the creativity, connection, and sense of belonging that will shape the kind of...
The Conversation: Allison DeFoor
President/CEO North Florida Land Trust If North Florida’s natural lands disappeared tomorrow, what would people notice first and what would they lose that they might not expect? The first thing people would notice is water. North Florida’s forests, wetlands, and marshes filter and protect the water we drink every day. Without them, you would see declines in water quality and quantity almost immediately. What people might...
Publisher’s Note
Nature conservation is the ethical/moral philosophy and conservation movement focused on protecting species from extinction, maintaining and restoring habitats, enhancing ecosystem services, and protecting biological diversity. Florida is fortunate to have many reputable conservation organizations and areas tendered through careful maintenance and upkeep of natural resources to prevent them from disappearing for everything from...


