Issue link: https://tmcpulse.uberflip.com/i/635316
t m c ยป p u l s e | j a n / f e b 2 0 1 6 5 W here can you find Texas Medical Center doc- tors, paramedics, medical students and employ- ees during their free time? Every Wednesday evening, the 80 who belong to the Texas Medical Center Orchestra gather to indulge their creative sides. In 2000, Libi Lebel left New York and a position as principal conductor of Princeton University's Sinfonia Orchestra for Houston to start an orchestra in the world's largest medical center. Lebel received a bach- elor's and master's degree from The Juilliard School of Music and The Westminster Choir College. Inspired by a performance she had seen by the Doctor's Orchestra of Philadelphia, Lebel wanted to give Houston's health care professionals a creative outlet through music. With the help of then dean of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston McGovern Medical School, L. Maximillian Buja, M.D., Lebel was able to obtain space to hold auditions. "The dean helped me send out an email to the medical center about auditions, and other than that, I put fliers up on every bulletin board I could find," Lebel said. B y B r i t n i N . R i l e y The Beat of the Medical Center After 16 years, the health care professionals of the Texas Medical Center Orchestra are still producing critically acclaimed performances Libi Lebel founded the Texas Medical Center Orchestra and has been directing it ever since. THE TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER ORCHESTRA WAS FOUNDED IN 2000 TO PROVIDE LOCAL HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS WITH A CREATIVE OUTLET.