- May 2012
For nearly six decades, the Georgia Symphony Orchestra has engaged audiences through imaginative programming, visionary leadership, and critically acclaimed performances. The standard of musicianship and artistry at every concert continues to be recognized and admired!
Orchestra History
The 85 virtuoso musicians of the GSO are dedicated professionals throughout the community! Since the GSO’s founding in 1951 accomplished musicians have come here to share their musical gifts with our audiences. The Georgia Symphony Orchestra had its beginnings in the music room of the home of Arthur F. Moor at 383 Church Street in Marietta. The Marietta Music Club’s Mrs. Howard Miller is credited for the promotion of the Marietta Concert Orchestra. This group later became the Marietta Symphony and is now the Georgia Symphony Orchestra. One of the members of the Marietta Music Club, Mrs. Elizabeth Moor Tomlinson, so loved the orchestra that upon her death she bequeathed $50,000 to the Georgia Symphony Orchestra. Her brother, Mr. Ralph C. Moor, continues to support the GSO in his sister’s name.
The quality of the Orchestra’s performances has steadily increased over the years, due to the dedication and talent of its member musicians and that of Betty Shipman Bennett who served as the GSO’s conductor from 1955 until her retirement in 1989. Ms. Bennett developed a great orchestra that enabled her successor, Steven Byess, to attract other local talented musicians to the GSO. During his ten years as the Music Director, he expanded the number of professional musicians and continued to raise the artistic standards of the orchestra.
July 1, 2004, marked the official beginning of Michael Alexander’s leadership of the Georgia Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Alexander brings with him a whole host of skills as an accomplished conductor, as well as an enthusiastic spirit that enables him to bring out the very best in the GSO musicians. His goal is to break down the barriers to classical music by providing an audience-friendly atmosphere and programming.
The GSO seasons plays host to a plethora of musical offerings including the Master Works Series, Tiny Tots Series, Family Concerts, GSO JAZZ!, the GSO Chorus, the Georgia Youth Symphony Orchestra –a resident youth orchestra with over 200 students from 10 counties – and an In-School Residency project, for which the GSO was recently named a partner in Education at Hickory Hills Elementary.
The Georgia Symphony Orchestra’s objective is to ensure artistic excellence in a diverse community that takes pride in the Orchestra’s artistic success and feels a sense of ownership for the Orchestra. The Georgia Symphony Orchestra is further dedicated to becoming a catalyst for community collaborations and for lifelong learning, using technology and other means to broaden the musical experience of current and future audiences.
