One of the most important lessons Libi Lebel has learned since launching Texas Medical Center Orchestra (TMCO) in 2000 is the value of going after what you want.
“Sometimes you have to open your own doors,” said Lebel, TMCO’s artistic director and winner of such honors as the Houston YWCA Outstanding Woman of the Arts award and being named one of Houston’s 50 Most Influential Women by Houston Woman Magazine. “You have to get out of your comfort zone and be fearless.”
That philosophy has served Lebel well since she convinced Dr. L. Maximilian Buja, then dean of the UT Medical School, to provide rehearsal space for the Houston doctors’ orchestra she wanted to establish. It helped her build an orchestra of 75 talented musicians who made careers in the medical field but never lost their love for performing.
It also helped Lebel make TMCO an integral part of the Houston arts scene. The orchestra won First Place in the 2017 American Prize in Orchestral Performance, community orchestra division, and received Second Place in multiple seasons that followed. TMCO also received the Ernst Bacon Memorial Award from American Prize, which recognizes the best performances of American music by ensembles and soloists worldwide.
Currently, Lebel is preparing to wrap up TMCO’s 25th season. On Saturday, May 10, the orchestra will present “From Darkness to Light Concert” at the Hobby Center for Performing Arts’ Zilkha Hall in downtown Houston. (See the article below for more details.)
Also this season, at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, May 31, TMCO will present “Musical Odyssey” at Miller Outdoor Theatre in Houston. The program will feature Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64, performed by violinist Dr. Mann-Wen Lo, and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade — presented as a semi-theatrical production with narration and visual storytelling.
The orchestra’s 2024–25 season also included “Tales of Adventure and Passion”, which featured a solo performance by saxophonist Rachel Jimenez, Young Texas Artists’ (YTA’s) 2024 Gold Medalist in the Winds, Brass, Percussion, Harp, and Guitar Division and Audience Choice Award winner. TMCO has provided several performance opportunities for YTA medalists in recent years.
“I love collaborating with rising-star musicians who deserve to be seen,” Lebel said. “Breaking into the professional world is no easy feat, and every vote of confidence we offer is a powerful way to uplift and empower the next generation.”
Signs, Dreams, and New Beginnings
Lebel is a big believer in following one’s goals and dreams. But she credits a literal dream with setting her on the right path musically. In the dream, a woman passed Lebel on the street, looked at her and said, “Don’t search for music; let music search for you.”
That dream occurred when Lebel was a recent graduate from The Juilliard School with a Bachelor of Music degree in piano. She had taken a break from full-time music after graduation and was selling life insurance and annuities for MetLife in Manhattan.
Lebel had enjoyed her experiences at Juilliard, but she worried a career in piano performance would be a lonely existence with more time spent rehearsing than interacting with others. And one thing she’d learned at MetLife was that she enjoyed working with people.
To Lebel, her dream felt like a message prompting her to find her own unique way in the music world. Shortly after that, she made a last-minute decision to attend a choral and orchestra concert at Carnegie Hall.
The music that evening was enthralling, she said, but it was the conducting that truly captured her imagination. That was what she needed to be doing.
“The music spoke to me, and I listened to the whispers of the universe,” she said.
Lebel went on to earn her Master of Music degree in conducting from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, N.J.
It was also during her time in New Jersey when the seeds would be planted for TMCO. A poster about a doctors’ orchestra in Philadelphia caught Lebel’s eye. An orchestra comprising physicians, people who loved performing but chose a different career path, was an intriguing idea.
Right Place, Right Time
In 2000, Lebel moved to Houston, home to the largest medical center in the country. She thought of the doctors’ orchestra in Philadelphia and discovered that Houston had nothing like it. The Bayou City represented a unique opportunity for her to launch her conducting career and create something special.
That was when Lebel brought her idea to UT Medical School’s Buja, asking not only for rehearsal space, but also for free parking and Internet. He agreed to all of it.
Soon, she was holding auditions for the new organization, then called the Doctors Orchestra of Houston.
She didn’t have a budget for music rights, so she turned to the librarians at University of Houston to help her find free options.
The orchestra held its first concert in February 2001. Later, as it began welcoming medical professionals in addition to doctors, it adopted its current name.
Fueled by Passion, Powered by Purpose
For Lebel, music has always been more than performance — it’s a means of healing, connecting, giving back, and, ultimately, helping to leave the world a better place, she says.
In 2010, following her father’s diagnosis with multiple sclerosis, she helped found the Gran Fondo Texas charity bike ride, benefiting both the Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Texas Medical Center Orchestra.
That same spirit of innovation guided her during the COVID-19 pandemic, when TMCO gained international recognition through a virtual collaboration with Grammy Award-winning songwriter Diane Warren. Their performance of “I’m Standing with You” went viral and helped raise more than $7 million for the United Nations COVID-19 Response Fund.
Lebel believes it’s especially important for young musicians to discover their “why” early in their careers — a deeper sense of purpose that fuels passion, focus, and resilience.
“When you know why you’re doing this,” she said, “you can stay inspired through every challenge and bring your fullest self to the music.”
Following Her Dreams
In the years since she established TMCO, not only has Lebel worked to propel the orchestra to success, but she has also continued to seek new conducting opportunities while juggling her responsibilities as a mother of three.
Two years ago, she was among 170 conductors from around the world to enter an international competition and was one of 74 invited to Romania for additional rounds. There, she conducted the Ploiești Philharmonic Orchestra and won Third Prize, as well as the Prize for Best Female Conductor.
“Being a musician is a lifelong journey — and continuing to grow in that journey takes grit, consistency, and above all, a deep commitment to keeping the passion alive,” Lebel said. “Balancing music and motherhood have brought both joy and challenge, but it made me a more compassionate conductor, and life experience gave me the wisdom I now bring to the podium.”
Lebel’s advice to young musicians: “Keep your passion’s flame burning and stay focused on your purpose. Don’t let your age or anyone else’s career timeline define your path. Tune out the naysayers, let go of limiting beliefs, and trust that there’s always time to grow, create, and inspire.”
She plans to continue seeking opportunities to broaden her conducting horizons. After all, Lebel is all about following dreams.
To buy tickets for TMCO’s May 10 concert, visit https://bit.ly/429CQwp.