East Texas Symphony Orchestra and UT Tyler Cowan Center Partner to Present Kristin Chenoweth and Bernadette Peters Concerts 

Broadway Icons to Perform at Cowan Center in Two Special Concert Events with ETSO 

TYLER, Texas (August 25, 2026) – The East Texas Symphony Orchestra and The University of Texas at  Tyler R. Don Cowan Fine and Performing Arts Center are partnering to present two special concerts  — one featuring Kristin Chenoweth on Oct. 24 and one featuring Bernadette Peters on April 17. Both concerts are made possible thanks to the support of presenting sponsor Southside Bank.

“UT Tyler is proud to partner with the East Texas Symphony Orchestra to bring these extraordinary  multi-award-winning artists to East Texas,” said Jeff Noblitt, UT Tyler Cowan Center executive  director. “We are thrilled to add two once-in-a-lifetime concert events into our already stellar  season and to welcome audiences to a refreshed Cowan Center after a significant renovation this  summer.”

Chenoweth will perform with the ETSO at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, and Peters performs with the  ETSO at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 17, offering audiences an opportunity to experience Broadway  favorites and other celebrated selections accompanied by a full orchestra.

“This partnership represents an exciting moment for the arts in East Texas,” said Robin Hampton,  ETSO executive director. “Kristin Chenoweth and Bernadette Peters are beloved performers whose  artistry has inspired audiences for generations. We are honored to work with UT Tyler to present  these remarkable events to our community.”

Part of the Braithwaite Performing Arts Program, jointly presented by ETSO and UT Tyler Cowan  Center, the partnership reflects a shared vision of making world-class performing arts accessible to  East Texas audiences.

Tickets will go on sale to the public on Monday, Aug. 31, and can be purchased online at  cowancenter.org, by calling 903.566.7424 or at the Cowan Center box office. Box office hours are 9  a.m. – 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. ETSO subscribers and Cowan Center Broadway series  subscribers and Circle Members will have early access to purchase tickets.

Chenoweth rose to prominence on Broadway winning a Tony® Award for her performance as Sally  in “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown.” She went on to originate the role of Glinda the Good Witch  in the international juggernaut musical “Wicked,” for which she received her second Tony  nomination. Beyond the stage, the Hollywood Walk of Fame honoree received an Emmy Award for

her role as Olive Snook in 2008’s “Pushing Daisies.” She was nominated for two Emmy Awards and a  People’s Choice Award for her role on “Glee.” Chenoweth also starred in two seasons of “The West  Wing” and Apple TV’s “Schmigadoon.” She has released eight studio albums and performed with  some of the most prestigious symphonies around the world.

Chenoweth is the founder of Kristin Chenoweth’s Broadway Bootcamp, an intensive summer  performing arts program for aspiring young musical theatre performers. The camp takes place each  summer in her hometown of Broken Arrow, Okla., and it recently celebrated its 11th anniversary.

Throughout her illustrious career, Peters has dazzled audiences and critics with her performances  on stage, film and television, in concert and on recordings. One of Broadway’s most critically  acclaimed performers, Peters recently starred in the highly successful run of Cameron Mackintosh’s  production of “Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends,” celebrating the life and work of Sondheim. She garnered both the Tony® and Drama Desk Awards for her performance in Andrew Lloyd  Webber’s “Song and Dance.” She also won a Tony® for her performance in the revival of Irving  Berlin’s “Annie Get Your Gun” and received Tony® nominations for her outstanding performances  on Broadway in Neil Simon’s “The Goodbye Girl,” Sondheim’s Pulitzer Prize-winning  musical “Sunday in the Park with George,” the Jerry Herman/Gower Champion ode to the  movies, “Mack and Mabel,” and the Leonard Bernstein/Comden and Green musical “On The Town.”

Later this year she will be seen in two feature films, “Last Train to Fortune” and “The Debut.” Peters  has recorded six solo albums, including the Grammy-nominated “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight,”  “Sondheim, Etc.: Bernadette Peters Live at Carnegie Hall” and “Bernadette Peters Loves Rodgers &  Hammerstein,” in addition to numerous original Broadway cast recordings.

About the East Texas Symphony Orchestra 

East Texas Symphony Orchestra engages and inspires the East Texas community through  exceptional music education and performances. The orchestra has been a vital part of the  community since 1936. Currently under the musical direc�on of Maestro Richard Lee, ETSO serves  an audience of over 14,000 each year. The orchestra has performed its main subscription series at  UT Tyler’s R. Don Cowan Fine and Performing Arts Center for the past 21 years.

About The University of Texas at Tyler and R. Don Cowan Fine and Performing Arts Center 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. The UT Tyler R. Don Cowan Fine and Performing Arts Center is the leading regional presenter of  Broadway, concerts, performing arts, dance, speakers and educational programming. The 2,012- seat venue is the performance home of the East Texas Symphony Orchestra, the Texas Rose Festival  coronations, the East Texas Youth Orchestra and many of the UT Tyler School of Performing Arts  signature concerts.