Presidents Letter

Famous composer and songwriter of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, Harold Arlen once wrote, “Music doesn’t argue, discuss, or quarrel, it just breathes the air of freedom.” Our mission statement is to support and promote the growth of the East Texas Symphony Orchestra and to encourage music education within our community.   This year’s theme, “Freedom in Music” supports this mission by allowing each of us to pursue the freedom found thru the expression of music so necessary for growth and encouragement of music education in our community.   Our mission could not move forward without the dedicated members of the Women’s Symphony League. It is a pleasure to serve our community with you this year.   Many thanks to each of you for joining together to provide an outstanding cultural experience for the people of East Texas. It should be noted, the Women’s Symphony League of Tyler is the orchestra’s single largest supporter.  Your efforts and our organization’s efforts collectively, make a difference in bringing quality concerts to our region. 

Our fundraisers provide a large part of the underwriting for the East Texas Symphony Orchestra, and our committees are already working diligently planning several events. Make plans to join us at Fall, Fresh, & Friends on October 25th for a delightful evening of music and social connection at Brookshire’s Fresh.   Last year our largest fundraiser, the WSL Ball, was a sold out event due to the successful leadership of WSL President, Laurie Ann Frank and WSL Ball Chairman, Stacey Hiles. We are grateful for their past leadership in making that event happen.  This year WSL Ball Chairmen and sisters, Kelli Fitzpatrick Armstrong and Jayme Fitzpatrick, will follow in their footsteps preparing a wonderful evening themed as “Celtic Garden Symphony” on April 22, 2023. This event will be hosted at the new W. T. Brookshire Conference Center designed by their father’s Architecture firm, Fitzpatrick Architects.

Our Junior Symphony League has been getting ready for an exciting year of volunteering at the ETSO performances and helping to fundraise for the East Texas Youth Orchestra. The JSL provides a very important role at the concerts that help to support our ETSO. Plan on joining us at the WSL Ball to celebrate these dedicated high school students. 

Thank you to our Sustainers/Social members for continuing your support of our organization. We will continue to provide more opportunities for you to interact with each other and build community together. 

Through this handbook and our newsletters, we hope to educate ourselves and elevate our awareness, bring understanding and purpose to each of our projects.  We hope that our members, ETSO patrons, and our community will all support this common goal of finding freedom in music.  Working together, we are a symphony of volunteers who make beautiful music in Tyler and East Texas. Every concert you attend, every dollar you donate, and every hour you volunteer help to keep the music playing in our community. Thank you so much for your support and dedication as we celebrate the sounds of our local symphony. Here’s hoping you find freedom in the music.

Sincerely, 

Carol Foley

WSL President 2022-23