1957—Gateway Formed
Gateway to Music was formed by members of the Pittsburgh Symphony with the aims to develop new, young audience and to employ musicians during the off-season by bringing chamber groups into the schools. A charter was received in this year and the mission statement was "to encourage and promote the interest of school children and others in chamber music through the playing of concerts in schools and other places."

1958
In the first programming year, a total of 93 concerts were performed for students, including: 54 by two string quartets, 23 by a woodwind quintet and 16 by a brass quintet.

1967—10th Anniversary
By the tenth anniversary, Gateway musicians accomplished their goal of reaching students in every Pittsburgh Public School, performing 380 concerts that year.

1968
Gateway was granted affiliate status from Young Audiences, Inc. and became one of 28 national chapters of this pioneering arts-in-education organization.

1974
Gateway's reach extends to all Allegheny County schools with support from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, increasing the performances to over 800 in 404 schools that year.

1980
Theater is incorporated into the services performed by Gateway.

1982—25th Anniversary
By this 25th anniversary, Gateway went beyond mere in-school concerts. In this year, an outreach program taught music through vibrations to children at the School for the Deaf and ten Gateway artists performed at the Three Rivers Arts Festival.

1985
With the addition of Dance Alloy, modern dance expands the catalog of offerings.

1987

1988
Gateway expands program offerings again by adding the pantomime Dan Kamin to its roster.

1992
The artist-in-residence program is created—teaching artists partner with classroom teachers, immersing students in the creative process.

1996
Born out of a long-range plan, Gateway revises the mission statement to acknowledge the goals of the high standards of their arts infused curriculum, the training of teachers and artist and arts advocacy  "to encourage students' interest and participation in the arts and to enhance the learning climate in the schools and communities of Western Pennsylvania through school performances of high quality, arts infused curriculum, teacher and artist training, and arts advocacy."

1997—Merged with PFAE
• Gateway to Music and the Performing Arts merges with the Pittsburgh Fund for Arts Education in this their 40th anniversary year and is named Gateway to the Arts.
• Integrating the Arts into the Curriculum: Part 1, the Basics, a 30-hour credit course is developed and offered to teachers in all disciplines.
• An Educational Advisory Panel and an Artists advisory panel are added to the governing structure

1998
An endowment campaign raises $219,250 from funders, including the Hillman Foundation, the McCune Foundation, PNC Foundation, AW Mellon, the Pittsburgh Foundation, the Bayer Foundation, Harry Franklin, William Genge, William Block, Douglas Danforth and Simmons.

2000
• Lisa Hoistma is recruited from Young Audiences of Maryland as the new executive director upon the retirement of Mary Goodman.

• The Gateway Arts in Education Partnership is launched based on the Lincoln Center Institute for the Arts in Education aesthetic education model. Guided by a partnership between educators and teaching artists, students engage in an in-depth exploration of a selected work of art. This process, in which students make personal connections between the work of art and their world, builds critical thinking skills and stimulates perceptual abilities. Sharpening abilities to observe, analyze and interpret through discussion around a work of art promotes cross-cultural awareness and develops necessary skills for all education endeavours.

• Increased emphasis on early child hood programming with the administration of the Heinz's endowments Ready for Life...The early Literacy Connection a three-year, mini-grant program.

2001
Gateway to the Arts initiates a strategic planning process led by the Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management at Robert Morris College. Recommendations include tools for strengthening programming, a re-branding campaign, strategies for fiscal stability and a new mission statement: "to transform the lives and education of children through active participation in the arts and inspire students and educators to become lifelong learners and participants in the arts by making the arts integral to education."

2002
Continued diversification of the performance roster with the addition of Vijay Palaparty of the Spilling Ink Project, Volcano Choy and Carl Jackson.

2005

• Began a relationship with Pittsburgh Public Schools Early Childhood Education Program and Pre-K Countspartners initially providing performing arts programming in classrooms at approximatly 36 sites annually and provided 200+ PPS Early Childhood Education educators and staff with a rotating series focused on each of the four arts disciplines.
• In September, moved offices to the Center for Creative Play in Regent Square/Edgewood.

2006

• Offered interactive early childhood Story Time programs in Allegheny County libraries.
• Launched the 50th Anniversary The Arts for Every Childcampaign with $1.25 million goal to support the following initiatives: a research project to document the Gateway  Arts in Education Partnership, a re-branding campaign, a fund for underserved schools, and a fund to commission new work for educational settings from local artists and organizations; contracted Teeter & Associates to assist with the campaign.

2007

• 50th Anniversary celebrations include a dinner with director Rob Marshall at the Duquesne Club and Tap Into Art celebration at the Pittsburgh Golf Club.\
• Began a partnership with The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust to provide programming in downtown daycare sites for PNC Grow Up Great initiative.
• Launched the annual Integrating the Arts into the Early Childhood Curriculum (Western Pennsylvania Wolf Trap) in-service serving Pittsburgh Public Schools, private and parochial early learning administrators, educators and staff—Credit:12-18 Act 48 hours and/or DPW certificate.

2008

• In August, became the regional affiliate/replication site of Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts, one of only 16 nationwide and the only one in Pennsylvania.
• In September, moved offices to current site in East Liberty.
• Launched advocacy work with state legislators; received $80,000 in DCED grant pledges for our work in their districts.

2011

• Became a proud affiliate of Young Audiences Arts for Learning, the nation's first and largest arts in education network. Since 1952 they have been committed to making the arts an essential part of young people's education by bringing them together with professioanl artists of all disciplines to learn, create and participate in the arts.