This article is the eighth 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 continues to generously partner with us to help share our story.
Through this ongoing collaboration, we’re offering behind-the-scenes glimpses into the heart of the GSO-highlighting our history, our musicians, our programs, and the exciting future ahead. 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: Kim Ellet
Drawn Together by Music—and by What It Makes Possible
When Rose Whittingham sang Carmina Burana with the Georgia Symphony Orchestra Chorus three years ago, it felt like a natural extension of a lifetime spent making music. Sitting in the audience that night was her husband, Jeff, experiencing GSO live for the first time. By the end of the performance, both felt something unmistakable: a deep connection to the music, the people, and the sense of shared purpose behind it all. What began as a powerful concert experience soon grew into a deeper commitment—one that includes not only attending performances, but choosing to support the orchestra behind them.
For Rose and Jeff Whittingham, music has never been just about performance. It is about connection—bringing people together, crossing boundaries, and reminding us of what we share.
That belief has shaped their life together since the very beginning. The two met in Schenectady, New York, in 1969, when Jeff was home on leave from the Army before heading to the Vietnam War. By January 1st they were engaged, and they married the Saturday after Easter. This April, they will celebrate 56 years of marriage—years in which music has always played a meaningful role.
Jeff’s career with General Electric eventually brought the couple to the Atlanta area 28 years ago. Over time, their interests have evolved, but curiosity and creativity remain at the center. Jeff, once focused on golf and long-distance cycling, now channels his energy into award-winning photography, capturing wildlife, nature, and stories through the lens. Rose, an anthropologist and Carnegie Mellon Fellow, brings the same thoughtfulness to everything she does—from music to community involvement to the golf course, where she represents Marietta Country Club in the Atlanta Women’s Golf Association.
Rose has sung in choirs most of her life and found a musical home at St. James Episcopal Church, where she sings under the direction of Dr. Bryan Black—also the conductor of the GSO Chorus and a beloved figure in the Marietta community. It was through Bryan that Rose was introduced to the GSO Chorus, a connection that felt both natural and welcoming.
“There’s something about choral music that’s different,” Rose says. “The sum total is more than what you can do on your own. You’re putting something out there that simply couldn’t be done any other way.”
That sense of collaboration and trust is what makes the GSO Chorus feel like family to her—a bond that grew even stronger during the Chorus’s tour of the United Kingdom last summer. “People really care about each other,” she says. “You feel it in rehearsal, in performance, and beyond.”
Jeff, who also sang in chorus earlier in life, experiences music today from the audience—but with just as much intention.
“If you really listen,” he says, “it becomes a spiritual moment. There’s hope in it. There’s kindness in it.” He believes those messages are carried through the music itself—and that supporting GSO helps ensure those messages continue to reach the community.
That perspective is reinforced by how the Whittinghams experience the world. They love to travel and recently returned from Antarctica; the year before, they visited Africa, where a mountain gorilla expedition left a lasting impression. Experiences like these, they say, underscore how connected people truly are.
“The feelings are the same everywhere,” Rose reflects. “The hopes are the same, the ambitions. We just express them differently.”
Those experiences have informed their long-standing support of global organizations like the World Wildlife Fund, but they are equally passionate about investing close to home. Rose is active at St. James Episcopal Church and its outreach ministries, and both see giving to GSO as another way to strengthen the community they live in.
“This is where those bigger ideas become real,” Jeff says. “Music brings people together in the same space and asks you to listen—not just to the music, but to each other. Supporting that feels important.”
Music is also something they love to share. Rose and Jeff regularly invite friends and neighbors to concerts, often introducing them to GSO for the first time. Many return—drawn in by the music, the warmth of the experience, and the sense of belonging that first captured Jeff’s attention at Carmina Burana.
For Rose and Jeff Whittingham, giving to the Georgia Symphony Orchestra is a natural extension of what they value most: connection, creativity, and the belief that music can remind us—especially now—that we are more alike than different.
Why your support matters
For over 72 years, the GSO has been dedicated to serving our community through musical enrichment and education. From scholarships for students in our youth orchestra, to providing sensory friendly concerts and outreach into underrepresented populations, we responsibly steward your donations to have the greatest impact across all of our programs.
