OPENING NIGHT WITH ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL
September 23, 2023 | 7:30pm
ETSO opens the 2023/2024 season with a high-energy concert featuring Lone Star State favorites Asleep at the Wheel. The Grammy®-winning artists will bring their celebrated style of American Western Swing to the Cowan Center stage for a performance with Richard Lee and the full East Texas Symphony Orchestra.
AMERICAN CELEBRATION
NOVEMBER 4, 2023 | 7:30pm
ETSO celebrates 20th century American classical music in a program that includes the orchestra’s first performance of Florence Price’s Symphony No. 1. Principal Clarinetist Sharon Knox Deuby will be featured in Michael Torke’s East.
MINSOO SOHN PLAYS SCHUMANN
JANUARY 27, 2024 | 7:30pm
Described by the Boston Globe as “born to play the piano,” Minsoo Sohn brings his acclaimed artistry to Tyler for the first ETSO performance of a repertoire favorite: Robert Schumann’s Piano Concerto.
Dance!
FEATURING THE TJC ACADEMY OF DANCE
FEBRUARY 24, 2024 | 7:30 pm
Richard Lee and the ETSO are excited to partner again with the Tyler Junior College Academy of Dance for a program featuring original choreography to two ballet favorites: Aaron Copland’s Four Dance Episodes from “Rodeo”, including the iconic Hoedown, and Igor Stravinsky’s modern masterpiece The Rite of Spring.
GRIDIRON SYMPHONY
A TRIBUTE TO HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL IN EAST TEXAS
MARCH 23, 2024 | 7:30 PM | UT TYLER COWAN CENTER
The ETSO season concludes with the World Premiere of a piece commissioned by the orchestra. Written by Dr. Kyle Gullings, director of the School of Performing Arts at UT Tyler, the work celebrates the traditions surrounding the East Texas passion for high school football. The concert also features other sports-themed works, including Olympic-inspired pieces by John Williams, Vangelis’s popular theme from “Chariots of Fire,” and P.D.Q. Bach’s transformation of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 into a sporting event.
VIEW OUR UPCOMING EVENTS
3RD ANNUAL SYMPHONY IN THE PARK
September 2, 2023 | 7:00pm | Bergfeld Park
The ETSO will host its 3rd annual Labor Day Weekend ‘Symphony in the Park’ event on September 2nd. The concert is free to the community and will feature music for everyone including film music, show tunes, classical favorites, and a preview of the 2023/2024 concert season!
Symphony in the Park is in partnership with the City of Tyler.
Special support for this concert is provided by West Oak Property Management/Will Hersey and Sheryl Rogers Palmer,
Along with the Byers Family Foundation, CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances, and Media Sponsor, Tyler Today.
Performance Selections for Symphony in the park Will Include:
The Star Spangled Banner – Presentation of Colors by the Tyler Police Department Color Guard
Hoedown from Rodeo (Copland)
Variations on a Shaker Melody (Copland)
Serenade for Strings, mvt 1 (Dvorak)
Symphony No. 5 “Reformation,” mvt 4 (Mendelssohn)
Chariots of Fire (Vangelis/arr. Mancini)
Selections from the Phantom of the Opera (Webber/arr. Custer)
Star Trek Through the Years (Goldsmith/arr. Custer)
A Tribute to Henry Mancini (arr. Custer)
Totality of the Sun
APRIL 6, 2024 | MATINEE AND EVENING PERFORMANCES
ROGERS PALMER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER AT TYLER JUNIOR COLLEGE
In partnership with Tyler Junior College, ETSO will present a once in a lifetime event celebrating a total eclipse of the sun.
The Eclipse Concert will feature East Texas Symphony Orchestra playing celestial favorites with beautiful visuals provided by TJC’s Earth & Space Science Center.
The eclipse will take place on April 8, 2024 with Tyler, Texas in the eclipse zone for optimal viewing.