Conductor Libi Lebel Wins The American Prize in Conducting
National winners: CONDUCTORS (orchestra), 2025
The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts, David (Volosin) Katz founder and chief judge, is honored to announce 2025 NATIONAL winners, runners-up and honorable mentions in The American Prize in Conducting, orchestra divisions. Congratulations! Questions, or to make us aware of any misprints in the listings below, please email: theamericanprize@gmail.com
The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts is the nation's most comprehensive series of contests in the performing arts. The American Prize is unique in scope and structure, designed to recognize and reward the best performing artists, directors, ensembles and composers in the United States at professional, college/university, community and high school levels, based on submitted recordings. Now in its fifteenth year, The American Prize was founded in 2010 and is awarded annually in many areas of the performing arts. Thousands of artists from all fifty states have derived benefit from their participation in the contests of The American Prize, representing literally hundreds of communities and arts organizations across the nation. Information about the 2025-26 season of contests has been updated on the website and applications are now being accepted, with extended deadlines in October and November. (http://theamericanprize.org)
The American Prize in Conducting—community orchestra division, 2025
The American Prize winner:
Libi Lebel
Bellaire TX
Texas Medical Center Orchestra
Libi Lebel is an award-winning conductor, educator, and arts advocate whose extraordinary contributions have shaped the cultural landscape of Houston for over two decades. As the founder and Artistic Director of the Texas Medical Center Orchestra (TMCO), she has harnessed the power of music to inspire, heal, and unite communities. Under her leadership, TMCO has become one of the nation’s leading community orchestras and was voted Best Community Orchestra in Houston, serving as a cultural bridge between the medical community and the public, fostering wellness, unity, and connection through music. She founded TMCO in 2000 to offer healthcare professionals a creative outlet and has since led the orchestra to national recognition—including its Carnegie Hall debut in 2013, First Prize in The American Prize’s Community Orchestra Division in 2017, and most recently being named a 2025 Honored Artist of The American Prize. Known for her charismatic and passionate musicianship, she is a well-recognized figure in the Houston arts community, having received numerous honors, including the Houston YWCA Outstanding Woman of the Arts Award, the CKW LUXE Top 20 Impact Maker Award, and the Houston Top 30 Influential Women Award. Recent career highlights include winning Third Prize and the prize for Best Female Conductor at the Second International Orchestra’s Conductors Competition, as well as guest conducting engagements with the Moldova Teleradio Orchestra, the Vidin Sinfonietta, the Banda Sinfônica Jovem de Goiás, and the Orquestra Sinfônica de Goiânia. To learn more about Libi Lebel, please visit: https://www.libilebelconductor.com
Learn more about this honor on The American Prize website.
