August 2025
Dear ARIAS Members and Friends,
Greetings from the Board of Directors of ARIAS: Amelia Residents In Action for the Symphony. Thank you for supporting the efforts of ARIAS as we strive to fulfill our threefold mission: increase Jacksonville Symphony exposure on Amelia Island; encourage attendance at Jacksonville Symphony concerts in Jacoby Hall; and support music education in our Nassau County schools.
We hope you were able to attend our ARIAS sponsored ensemble events on the island this past season. Both the Jacksonville Symphony Brass Ensemble in the fall and the very accomplished Wind Quintet in the spring were outstanding programs and great opportunities to learn more about these fabulous musicians and their personal stories. Mark your calendars for Sunday November 23rd when the Jacksonville Symphony String Quartet will be performing at Story & Song. As in the past, these ARIAS sponsored events include a reception and intermission refreshments while ARIAS members receive a discount.
Our re-established bus transportation from both Yulee and Amelia Island to the Florida Blue Classical Eight concert series in Jacoby Hall for the 75th Anniversary season was enthusiastically received by almost 200 area residents. This was made possible in part by our generous bus sponsors, Richard Cullen and Robert Finnerty. ARIAS is most grateful to them for continuing their support as ARIAS 2025/26 season sponsors. We also welcome, with our sincere thanks, Carl and Barbara Zacheis, as bus sponsors for this upcoming season.
The bus schedule for the Friday night Florida Blue Classical 8 concert series for this season is already set and can be found on our website and Facebook pages. With our sponsorships, we may be able to offer additional buses to select special events. You should have received an email survey about this. If you haven’t completed it, please indicate your preferences so we can add buses for those events with the most interest. As in the past, ARIAS Members receive a $5 rebate at the bus the night of the performance.
ARIAS was pleased to establish a grant through the Nassau Schools Foundation this past year to support music education in our Nassau County Schools. The grants for the 2025/26 academic year were presented to Solomon Johnson of Emma Love Hardee Elementary, to enhance his Orff instrument program; Paul Arnold of Callahan Middle School for individual tuning devices for his band members; and Asa Jernigan of Fernandina Beach Middle School for professional musician clinicians to work with outstanding students. In addition, ARIAS has reached out to all the district music educators in our area with offers of musical demonstrations and ensemble performances and have invited them as our guests to our Fall and Spring events. The ARIAS Board has already voted to continue to offer another grant this season.
So, ARIAS keeps busy! If you are interested in working with us on the Board, in committees and/or would like to make a contribution to our efforts we are looking for additional sponsors and help with our ongoing activities. Please contact us by email ariasnassau@gmail.com or mail to ARIAS, Inc. P.O. Box 16203 Fernandina Beach, FL 32035.
Enjoy the rest of your summer and we look forward to seeing you at the Symphony in the fall!
Best regards,
Sherilyn Van Orden, ARIAS President
A.R.I.A.S., P.O. Box 16203, Fernandina Beach, FL 32035, ariasnassau@gmail.com, www.ariasnassau.org