ABOUT THE
IRVING SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
MISSION STATEMENT
To provide artistically satisfying musical and educational programs for the people of Irving and the surrounding region; creating a climate in which the Irving Symphony Orchestra will flourish in a fiscally sound manner.
BRIEF HISTORY

The Irving Symphony Orchestra (ISO) began as most community orchestras have, with a
small group of musicians who formed the Irving String Ensemble from at that time, the
University of Dallas. In 1961, the ISO Association was formed, and the first official concert
was presented at Irving High School on December 10, 1962 with 23 volunteer musicians.
By 1963 the orchestra became the significant music group in Irving. The first Irving
Symphony benefit ball was held in 1967 and was an annual major event for several years.
The ISO performed in England with the Wimbledon Symphony Orchestra as part of a cultural
exchange with Irving’s Sister City, Merton--a section of London. In 1988 the orchestra
moved from being a community orchestra to a full-fledged professional symphony
association, with all paid musicians with degrees from top music schools and conservatories.
Maestro Hector Guzman became the Music Director/Conductor of the ISO in 1991 further
elevating the Symphony’s status among regional symphonic organizations. Maestro Guzman
holds degrees from the Conservatory of Music in Mexico City, Southern Methodist University
and University of North Texas and has studied with many illustrious conductors. Maestro
Guzman has guest conducted in the United States, Mexico, Japan, Italy, Dominican Republic,
Korea, China, Vietnam, Poland and Spain. Currently, under his music direction, the ISO has
eleven (11) performances including six (6) concerts in its subscription season, four (4) multi-
media free youth concerts with mini clinics for more than 6,000 students of the Irving
Independent School District, as well as other free community concerts and educational events
for local families and surrounding neighbors.
The Irving Symphony League organized in 1970 to provide support services to the ISO. The
League organized and fostered the Symphony Belles which later evolved into the Ovation
Program for volunteer service to the Orchestra by community members and high school
students assisting with hosting duties and ticket handling at performances. The League also
sponsors scholarship awards for seniors in high school who are planning to continue their post
high school graduation education in a musical field of study.
HECTOR GUZMAN,
MUSIC DIRECTOR/CONDUCTOR
Hector Guzman is music director/conductor of the Irving, Plano, Corpus Christi and San
Angelo Symphony Orchestras in the USA. He is also “Conductor Emeritus” of the Jalisco
Philharmonic in Mexico. In addition, he has appeared as a celebrated guest conductor of
other notable orchestras in Mexico, the United States, Central and South America, Europe and
the Asian region. He has also achieved an impressive reputation as an organist by winning
top prizes in several national and international competitions, including the “Grand Prix de
Chartres,” the world’s most prestigious organ competition. He is a graduate of the National
Conservatory of Mexico City, the University of North Texas and Southern Methodist
University. His teachers include luminaries such as Victor Urban, Alfred Mouledous, Robert
Anderson, Carlo Maria Giulini, Helmuth Rilling, his mentor Maestro Anshel Brusilow, and
the late Maestro Eduardo Mata.
Maestro Guzman was accorded the “Meadows” Award, DeVry University’s “Director per
Excellence” Award and the “Good Citizenship Medal” in the United States, as well as
Mexico’s “Outstanding National Young Artist” Award, the “Golden Lyre” Award, the
“Artistic Silver Medal” and the “Mozart Medal, “Mexico’s highest musical honor, awarded by
the embassy of Austria in Mexico City.
He is the recipient of the 2012 “Man of the Year” Award by New York based Madison’s
Who’s Who, the 2012 North Texas Chapter of “For the Love of Art” Lifetime Achievement
Award and the 2014 “Distinguished Member Award” by the international musical fraternity
“Sigma Alpha Iota” in the United States. In 2000, he was included in the “Outstanding
Musicians of the XX century” magazine, published by the International Biographical Centre
in Cambridge, England. The Maestro received the 2017 Diversity Award for Arts and
Culture from the Greater Dallas Asian American Chamber of Commerce (GDAACC).

