The Tuesday Evening Concert Group was formed by Martin B. Hiden in the fall of 1948 with the assistance of Bard Hume of the Washington Post and Richard Bales of the National Gallery of Art. Also the organizer of WUVA and Friends of the University, Hiden put together a board comprised of: George Van Pelt, President; Arthur N. Marshall, Vice-President; Hiden as Executive Secretary; Mrs. W. R. Sieburg, Treasurer; James Brown; George Williams; A.L. Hen; Bernard Mayo; Henry Morgan; R.H. Webb; Randolph Bean; Gordon Page; and Mrs. E.V. Townley.

The first concert, given by The Mozart Trio in a program of arias from “Don Giovanni”, “Le Nozze di Figaro” and “Cosi fan Tutte”, was held on November 30, 1948. There was a near-capacity audience. Two candelabra on stage were lit and at the end of the performance extinguished, by a young child, Roland Pittman, who appeared as the Series’ special guest at the opening concert of the 50th anniversary season in the fall of 1998.

Hiden subsequently established a connection with the National Music League and formed The Evening Concert Groups, which collaborated with six other concert organizations in Virginia, D.C. and Maryland in order to form a concert blockbooking network for the purpose of sharing artists’ costs. In 1951 the Board voted to disengage from this affiliation and become The Tuesday Evening Concert Series, incorporating as a non-profit organization in the same year.

Twelve concerts were offered the first season, nine for the 1954/55 season, and eventually six concerts were established in the 1980’s. Local patrons purchased season memberships for the open seating arrangement, and the seasons were often sold out in the early years. Charlottesville and Albemarle County residents were not permitted to purchase tickets to individual concerts; this privilege was restricted to out-of-town guests and students purchasing rush tickets 5 minutes prior to a performance.