Texas Medical Center Orchestra Artistic Director Libi Lebel Wins Awards in Conductor Competition
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The Texas Medical Center Orchestra is proud to announce that Libi Lebel, its founder and Artistic Director, was a prize winner in a major international competition for conductors, the “Orchestra’s Conductor”, which was held in June in Ploiesti, Romania.
One hundred and seventy conductors from around the world submitted tapes to enter the competition; of these, 74 were invited to Romania to conduct. Eighteen semifinalists were selected and instructed to prepare eight works. When they stepped onto the podium, they were told which piece they were to conduct. Three finalists were selected, one of whom was TMCO’s Libi Lebel. A remarkable feature of this competition is that the selection was by vote of the orchestra players themselves, not by an outside jury.
For the competition, Maestra Lebel conducted the Ploiesti Philharmonic Orchestra in Bartok Divertimento for strings, Tchaikovsky Serenade for strings, the Schumann Manfred Overture, and Dvorak's Rondo for cello and orchestra.
Maestra Lebel’s third-place award entitles her to a monetary prize and an invitation to return to Ploiesti to conduct the orchestra in three concerts in 2023-2025. The Orchestra also awarded her a special prize for women conductors. While in Europe, she also conducted the Moldova TeleRadio Orchestra.
Ms. Lebel envisaged and founded the Texas Medical Center Orchestra in 2000 as an orchestra based in the medical center with personnel largely from the Texas Medical Center. The orchestra has expanded over the past 23 years to a core of about 70 members. It presently includes well-known Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) faculty such as Drs. Ann Anderson, neurologist at Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH), Daniel Musher, Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine, Tammy Kang, Division Chief of Pediatric Palliative Care at TCH, Robert Lynch, BCM radiologist, Rageev Raghavan, nephrologist and residency program director, and Lynn Zechiedrich, chaired professor of microbiology and molecular virology. In addition, the orchestra includes Christian Lilje, professor of pediatric cardiology at TCH, Bilal Siddiqui, assistant professor and genitourinary medical oncologist at MD Anderson, and current concertmaster Grace Lee, assistant professor at BCM and pediatric dermatologist at TCH.
TMCO gives 4-5 concerts at major public venues each year as well as many performances at hospitals and retirement facilities. Outreach activities provide major support for music programs in the Houston Independent School District, such as the Pilgrim Academy.
Under Maestra Lebel’s direction, TMCO has received national recognition from the National Endowment for the Arts and has performed at Carnegie Hall in New York. The orchestra has been a place winner or finalist every year for the past seven in both the community orchestra division and American composer music performance in the national America Prize competition.
The orchestra’s next concert will be at Miller Outdoor Theatre, Saturday night, September 23. Other concerts in the exciting 2023-4 season are listed on the TMCO website.
