This article is the final installment in our special anniversary series, originally published in the Marietta Daily Journal. As the Georgia Symphony Orchestra celebrates 75 years of music, connection, and community, the MDJ has generously partnered with us to help share our story.
We’re deeply grateful to our hometown paper and the community that has made this milestone possible and continues to support the music we bring to our region.
By Suzanne Tucker, Executive Director, Georgia Symphony Orchestra
Two weeks have passed since the Georgia Symphony Orchestra’s 75th Anniversary Finale at Atlanta’s Woodruff Arts Center, but one image remains firmly in my mind. It wasn’t a particular piece of music or even the standing ovation at the end of the evening. It was the sight of the entire GSO family gathered under one roof.
For the first time in our history, every part of the organization was present for a single celebration. GSO Jazz! set the tone in the lobby before the concert, welcoming guests as they arrived. Then, as the evening unfolded on stage, the orchestra, chorus, and youth symphony performed together — students sitting beside seasoned musicians, volunteers performing alongside professionals, young people discovering their voices and veteran performers sharing a lifetime of experience. It was a powerful reminder of who we are, and who we’ve always been.
The audience reflected that same spirit. Despite torrential rain and Atlanta traffic, people came from across our community to celebrate this milestone. Some had been attending concerts for decades. Others were experiencing the GSO for the first time.
Among them was Barbara Bennett, daughter of founding conductor Betty Shipman Bennett. Barbara and her sister Susan, both former orchestra members themselves, traveled a great distance to attend. Barbara has long referred to the orchestra as “her other sister” — a fitting description for an organization that has been woven into her family’s life for generations. After the concert, she shared what the evening had meant to her.
“What a feast for my ears and eyes,” she said. “To see and hear how far the orchestra has come filled my heart with joy. I am extremely grateful and have so much admiration for all the people who came after the Bennetts’ time with the orchestra — who kept it going and developed the other groups that are now part of the orchestra’s family. What started as a small group of around eight volunteers who wanted to play music together filled the Atlanta Symphony Hall with music. I think Mom would be so proud.”
So do we.
Over the past year, we’ve spent a great deal of time reflecting on our history. We’ve celebrated milestones, shared stories, and remembered the people who built this organization. In many ways, the finale concert felt like the culmination of that reflection — not an ending, but a moment to look back clearly before looking forward.
Because while much has changed since 1951, the heart of this organization remains remarkably familiar. The Marietta Music Club was founded by community members who believed music could bring people together. They created a place where musicians could continue playing, where audiences could experience live performances close to home, and where friendships could form through a shared love of music. Seventy-five years later, that purpose remains intact.
Today, our orchestra, chorus, jazz program, and youth ensembles serve thousands of people each year. We provide opportunities to learn, perform, volunteer, and connect — a chance to step away from the constant demands of modern life and spend an hour being inspired, challenged, or simply refreshed. The world around us has changed dramatically. The need for those experiences has not.
And while the Georgia Symphony Orchestra has grown far beyond what its founders likely imagined, it continues to be powered by the same thing that sustained it from the beginning: community. The musicians on our stages are our neighbors. The students in our youth programs attend local schools. The volunteers, donors, sponsors, and audience members who make this work possible are people who believe that great music belongs here.
That is why this organization has flourished for 75 years — not because of any one conductor, board member, staff person, or donor, but because generation after generation of people have chosen to show up. They showed up in church basements and school auditoriums, for rehearsals and fundraisers, to perform and volunteer and teach and give and listen. They showed up this month, driving through rain and traffic to celebrate a milestone that belongs to all of them.
As our anniversary season comes to a close, gratitude is the feeling that rises above all others. Gratitude for those who founded this organization. Gratitude for those who sustained it through every challenge and change. Gratitude for those who continue to invest in its future. The story of the Georgia Symphony Orchestra is not ultimately about an institution — it is about a community that has chosen, for 75 years, to create something meaningful together.
So much has changed since 1951. But at our core, we’re still the Marietta Music Club: neighbors making music for neighbors, finding connection in the process, and building something that we trust will still be here 75 years from now.
The GSO is deeply grateful to all of our community partners who joined us onstage for this special celebration: The Uzee Brown Society of Choraliers, Georgia Spiritual Ensemble, Wendell P. Whalum Community Chorus.
We are also grateful for our season sponsor: The City of Marietta
