Starlight Symphony Orchestra conductor wins American Prize

David William Oertel, conductor of the Starlight Symphony Orchestra in Wimberley TX is the winner of The American Prize in Orchestral Programmingthe Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award, 2019, in the community orchestra division. David was selected from applications reviewed recently from all across the United States. The American Prize is the nation’s most comprehensive series of non-profit competitions in the performing arts, unique in scope and structure, designed to recognize and reward the best performing artists, ensembles and composers in the United States based on submitted recordings. The American Prize was founded in 2009 and is awarded annually in many areas of the performing arts.

David William Oertel is the Music Director and Conductor of the Starlight Symphony Orchestra (TX) and the Austin Philharmonic. Oertel is working with David Daniels as a co-author for the book, “Daniels’ Orchestra Music” the 6th Edition. He has also appeared as a guest conductor in venues from Houston, TX to St. Petersburg, Russia. Oertel has taught music in the public schools and has been on the faculty of universities in North Carolina. He has worked with youth orchestras, musical theatre and opera pit orchestras, concert and jazz orchestras as well as numerous small ensembles. He studied at the University of North Texas, University of Houston and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Oertel’s influential conducting mentors include Robert Linder, David Daniels, Max Rudolf, Kirk Trevor, Hans Graf, Niklaus Wyss, Adrian Gnam and Franz Krager.

The American Prize—Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award in Orchestral Programming honors the memory of the great Lithuanian conductor, Maestro Vytautas Marijosius, music director of the Lithuanian State Opera, and for nearly thirty-five years Director of Orchestral Activities at the Hartt School of Music. The Prize recognizes and rewards the best achievement in the unique field of orchestral programming, where the selection of repertoire by knowledgeable, creative and courageous music directors builds orchestras and audiences, educates young people and adults, and enriches the community.