“The East Texas Symphony Orchestra has been a staple of Tyler’s arts community since its 1936 inception” as the Tyler Symphony Orchestra, writes Cory McCoy in Sunday’s (3/13) Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas). “Its first performance took place on March 16, 1936 … The concert was a huge success, with more than 750 people in attendance, according to a history of the orchestra … The organization [was] renamed the East Texas Symphony Orchestra in 1954…. The orchestra was forced to disband during World War II, due to so many of its members being called to serve in the military. The group would finally reassemble in 1950 … under the direction of Joseph Kirshbaum [who] would spend nearly three decades with the ETSO. He retired in 1978…. The Kirshbaum Strings program … formed in 2004 … helps young string musicians grow their skill sets. The ETSO currently is under the guidance of Richard Lee, who took on the role of conductor in 2012…. For its contributions to the community, the East Texas Symphony Orchestra is set to be memorialized on the Half Mile of History in downtown Tyler during a ceremony … on Wednesday… organizations like the ETSO helped make Tyler what it is today.”
Posted March 16, 2016
