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).