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ALEXANDRIA, Va. — George Hanson, the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra's executive director for the past seven years, has left the organization to pursue new opportunities, the orchestra's board announced Thursday. His last day was June 30.
"It has been a pleasure and an honor to work with this fine organization," Hanson said in a statement. "The music-making is spectacular. I look forward to ASO's next chapter."
Hanson's exit comes as the orchestra navigates a broader changing of the guard. He arrived in 2019, at the close of the ASO's 75th anniversary season and the first season under Music Director James Ross — and he departs just as Ross wraps his own tenure. Ross concluded his eighth and final season this spring, and the ASO expects to select his successor, along with what the board described as a new executive leadership team, in 2027. Hanson served as an artistic adviser to the music director search committee during the candidate selection process, the results of which the board said audiences will experience in the coming 2026-2027 season.
"George has played a vital role in the ASO's achievements throughout the past seven years, as shown by his numerous contributions," board President Laurie MacNamara said in a statement. "With the ASO entering this new phase of executive leadership, we are positioned to move forward stronger than ever."
MacNamara credited Hanson with several lasting contributions. He led the Making Music Together capital campaign, which raised $1.8 million — the orchestra's first major campaign — and helped negotiate a collective bargaining agreement with the orchestra's musicians that the board described as the first such agreement in a generation. Under his leadership, the board said, season subscription sales grew nearly 40% since the pandemic, bucking national trends for symphony orchestras.
Hanson came to the ASO after a four-decade conducting career that took him to more than 120 orchestras across five continents, including a 20-year association with the Tucson Symphony and engagements with the New York Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony. He later shifted to arts administration, directing the Tucson Desert Song Festival and Oregon's Sunriver Music Festival before joining the Alexandria orchestra. When he was hired, Ross called him "a fabulous musician, an experienced arts leader" and "a creative thought partner" for the orchestra.
The board said it would keep supporters informed as its search for new leadership progresses. Founded in 1944, the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra is among the region's longtime cultural institutions, performing throughout the year at venues across the city.
