Community concerts bring outstanding family entertainment to East Texas

by Jan Statman

Both organizations offer family memberships as well as individual memberships. As added value to their communities, both offer special student outreach programs.

The Community Concert Series in Tyler and Kilgore have a combined total of over 144 years of bringing performing artists and enthusiastic audiences together in their respective communities.

Claude Wallace, president of the Kilgore Community Concert Series, says the Kilgore series was founded in 1947. His board of directors has members from Marshall and Henderson as well as Kilgore. Series members come from those cities as well as from Longview, Gladewater and surrounding areas. All performances begin at 7 p.m. and are held at the Dodson Auditorium on the campus of Kilgore College.

As part of a reciprocal membership agreement, members of the Kilgore series are welcome to attend concerts in six other communities. Because of this agreement, members may attend a total of twenty-five additional performances. Their reciprocal agreement includes Tyler, Greenville, Livingston, Irving, Terrell, and the Marshall Arts Series in Marshall.

The Tyler Civic Music Concert Series was established in 1933 during the height of the Oil Boom. The Tyler Concert Series begins in September and ends in May with all performances held at Caldwell Auditorium, 300 South College, in Tyler. All concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. with doors opening at 6:30 p.m.

The Tyler Association draws members from as far away as Hide-A-Way Lake, Mineola, Quitman, Jacksonville, Emerald Bay, Palestine, Canton, Chandler, Arp and Longview. The Tyler Series shares reciprocal agreements with several other area associations so that TCCA members have the opportunity to attend approximately thirty additional concerts.

Both are volunteer organizations operating on budgets that depend on corporate and individual sponsorships as well as on memberships. Both organizations offer family memberships as well as individual memberships. As added value to their communities, both offer special student outreach programs. Whenever it is possible, they bring guest artists into the schools for performances and workshops with local schoolchildren as well as with college students. Students who present their school identifications receive free admission to all programs of the Kilgore Concert Series.

Both the Tyler and Kilgore concert programs were organized as part of the Community Concert Association in New York City. The association was dedicated to providing for the cultural enrichment of local associations. They supplied an excellent network of performers, which made it possible for local associations to present outstanding entertainment at reasonable prices.

In 2003, this group was reorganized and released all of its affiliates. The Tyler and Kilgore associations then joined the Live On Stage network in Nashville, Tenn., a similar booking and support organization.

Now celebrating its tenth year, Live On Stage has issued the following declaration: “On Stage seeks to provide the absolute best in live artists to a network of concert associations across the United States. We are dedicated to the support and growth of each affiliate and are steadfastly committed to delivering excellence.”

For Kilgore schedule, CLICK HERE.

For Tyler schedule, CLICK HERE.