Our Mission

The mission of the East Texas Symphony Orchestra is to engage and inspire the East Texas community with exceptional music education and performance.

From the concert hall to the classroom to the community, the East Texas Symphony Orchestra has played a vital role in the cultural life of Tyler and the surrounding region since 1936.

The vision of Mrs. W. C. Windsor and of members of the Music Committee of the Tyler Women’s Forum, the Tyler Symphony Orchestra – as it was then known – gave its first performance on March 16, 1936.  It was in 1954 that the orchestra was renamed the East Texas Symphony Orchestra to reflect the region from which it drew both musicians and audience.

ETSO – Wise Auditorium, 1965-66

Along with these concerts, the orchestra engages with the community a variety of ways, presenting family programming, intimate chamber performances, masterclasses, multi-media presentations, lectures, and casual gatherings at various venues around town.