UT Tyler, East Texas Youth Orchestra Partner to Expand Music and Educational Opportunities  

Partnership Establishes UT Tyler Cowan Center as Official Home of the ETYO 

TYLER, Texas (February 24, 2026) – The University of Texas at Tyler has partnered with the East  Texas Youth Orchestra in support of arts education and community engagement.

“This is a proud moment for UT Tyler,” said UT Tyler President Julie V. Philley, MD. “This partnership  reflects our shared values, mission and belief in the transformative power of the arts.”

The partnership makes the UT Tyler R. Don Cowan Fine and Performing Arts Center the official  home of the youth orchestra.

“We are so grateful that The University of Texas at Tyler has been a steady partner of the East Texas  Youth Orchestra, and we are excited to be able to call the Cowan Center our home,” said Phil  Ketcham, ETYO executive director. “Both ETYO and UT Tyler are deeply committed to helping the  schools and students of East Texas develop to their fullest potential.”

The partnership also reinforces UT Tyler’s commitment to making the Cowan Center an even  stronger cultural hub for East Texas and a vital point of connection between its students and the  broader community.

“The East Texas Youth Orchestra has rehearsed on our campus each Sunday since 2015, so we are  thrilled to formally solidify and celebrate a relationship that has already been so meaningful,” said  Dr. Sarah Roberts, UT Tyler School of Performing Arts director. “We look forward to strengthening  this partnership and continuing to serve the musical life of East Texas together.”

UT Tyler, through its School of Performing Arts, will work with ETYO to expand opportunities for  artistic growth, educational collaboration and community engagement that will benefit ETYO  students as well as UT Tyler students and faculty. To learn more, visit: uttyler.edu/music.

The ETYO will perform their season finale concert Saturday, May 9, at the Cowan Center.

About ETYO 

Since 1955, the mission of the East Texas Youth Orchestra, Inc. (ETYO) is to provide exceptional  musical experiences in arts education through a diverse set of programs, while providing  performances that enrich its members and the community. For more information, visit: ETYO.org.

About UT Tyler

With a mission to improve educational and health care outcomes for East Texas and beyond, UT  Tyler offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate programs to more than 11,500 students.  Through its alignment with UT Tyler Health Science Center and UT Health East Texas, UT Tyler has  unified these entities to serve Texas with quality education, cutting-edge research and excellent  patient care. Classified by Carnegie as a doctoral research institution and by U.S. News & World  Report as a national university, UT Tyler has campuses in Tyler, Longview, Palestine and Houston.