After twenty years of service to the Georgia Symphony Orchestra, Susan Stensland has officially concluded her final leadership role with the organization she helped shape for nearly two decades.
This June marked the completion of Susan’s five-year term on the GSO Advisory Board. In characteristic fashion, her resignation was understated, gracious, and focused not on herself, but on the future of the organization she loves.
“I don’t feel that I am needed at this point in a formal board role. This is my quiet vote of confidence, and a way of saying, ‘You’ve got this!'” she wrote.
For those who know Susan, those words perfectly capture her leadership style. She never sought the spotlight. Instead, she spent twenty years building systems, creating opportunities, nurturing relationships, and helping the Georgia Symphony Orchestra become the organization it is today.
Susan first joined the GSO staff, then the Cobb Symphony Orchestra, in 2006 as Operations Manager. What began as a practical decision to return to full-time work soon became a calling. Over the next fifteen years—including nine years as Executive Director—she guided the organization through some of the most transformative chapters in its history.
During her tenure, the GSO grew from a respected local orchestra into a regional performing arts organization serving audiences across Metro Atlanta and beyond. The Georgia Youth Symphony Orchestras expanded into one of the largest youth orchestra programs in the Southeast, serving students from more than 127 schools across 17 counties. The GSO Chorus, GSO Jazz!, and Holiday Pops became beloved fixtures of the organization’s programming. The Symphony weathered both the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic while continuing to serve musicians, students, and audiences.
Yet perhaps Susan’s most enduring contribution was helping the organization define what it means to serve a community through music.
She often said that the GSO was not simply a music organization, but an arts and service organization. Under her leadership, that philosophy inspired groundbreaking initiatives that expanded access to music for people who might otherwise have been excluded from traditional concert experiences.
Among those innovations were the GSO’s pioneering Sensory Friendly concerts, developed through extensive research and collaboration with families, educators, and specialists. These performances opened doors for individuals with autism and sensory sensitivities and sparked conversations throughout the arts community about accessibility and inclusion.
Susan’s vision was never simply about presenting concerts. It was about connection.
It was about asking, “Who are we missing?”
Who needs comfort? Who needs healing? Who needs community? Who needs music in their lives?
Those questions continue to shape the Georgia Symphony Orchestra today.
Even after retiring as Executive Director in 2021, Susan remained committed to the organization. She returned in 2022 to serve as Interim Co-Executive Director during a leadership transition and continued her service on the Advisory Board through the conclusion of the GSO’s historic 75th Anniversary Season.
In her final message to the Board of Directors, she reflected not on her own accomplishments, but on the people who will carry the mission forward:
“I deeply appreciate each of you for your tireless dedication, your unfailing belief in our mission, and most especially, for your kind and generous hearts. The people of our community will continue to have impactful performances, education, and outreach because of you. Thank you. Thank you.”
Current Executive Director Suzanne Tucker reflects on Susan’s legacy this way:
“Susan Stensland served as the heart and soul of this organization for many years. She is gracious and generous with her time and expertise. Her passion for sharing music with this community permeates the Georgia Symphony Orchestra. I’m proud to follow in her footsteps and honored to call her friend.”
In 2021, the GSO Board of Directors established the Stensland Family Fund to honor Susan’s retirement and ensure that her vision would continue for generations to come.
Today, the fund supports musical experiences for individuals and communities who can particularly benefit from the healing, comforting, and uplifting power of music. Its impact reaches people with special needs, dementia, PTSD, and others who face barriers to participation, while helping the GSO continue developing innovative programs that expand access and build connection.
Susan may be stepping away from formal service, but her influence will continue to be felt in every student inspired, every audience welcomed, and every life touched through music.
Thank you, Susan, for twenty remarkable years.
And thank you for your quiet vote of confidence.
As Susan concludes twenty years of dedicated service, we invite you to honor her extraordinary legacy with a gift to the Stensland Family Fund. Every contribution helps carry forward the values she championed—accessibility, inclusion, compassion, and the transformative power of music—ensuring they remain at the heart of the Georgia Symphony Orchestra for generations to come.
Donate Online:
https://cobbfoundation.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=1339
To donate by check:
Make checks payable to Cobb Community Foundation and write “Stensland Family Fund for GSO” in the memo line. Mail to:
Cobb Community Foundation
1100 Circle 75 Parkway, Suite 1000
Atlanta, GA 30339
