MARIJOSIUS AWARD, 2025: finalists

Vytautas Marijosius

The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts, David Volosin Katz, founder and chief judge, is honored to announce 2025 FINALIST conductors in orchestral programming, The Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award. Congratulations!

As the contests unfold, runners-up and winners will be selected from this list. To know the exact date when winners will be announced, please like our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter #AmericanPrize, where that information will be published first. 

All contestants are reminded they are responsible for the viability of their online links to audition materials. Those links must remain active until the end of the contest year. Questions, or to make us aware of any misprints in the listings below, please email: theamericanprize@gmail.com 

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.  

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 will be available on the website in the spring. (http://theamericanprize.org)

At The American Prize there is never a preset number of finalists in any division—finalists are those artists who are judged to be worthy of additional consideration and evaluation. Contestants, therefore, do not compete against each other, but in reference to judges' perceived impression of an artistic ideal.

We invite finalists to make the most of their selection by announcing it on their facebook page, tweeting the news, and including a link to this announcement on their website or blog. A sample announcement may be found at the end of the post.

NATIONAL FINALISTS: The American Prize in Orchestral Programming—Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award (professional division), 2025

Antoine T. Clark 

Worthington OH 

Worthington Chamber Orchestra

John Young Shik Concklin 

Spartanburg SC 

Spartanburg Philharmonic

Brian Stone 

Santa Monica CA 

Westside Chamber Orchestra

NATIONAL FINALISTS: The American Prize in Orchestral Programming—Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award (college/university division), 2025

Amy Gillingham Culligan 

Cincinnati OH 

Northern Kentucky Philharmonic Orchestra

Thomas Taylor Dickey 

Oklahoma CityOK 

Oklahoma State University Symphony Orchestra

Norman Gamboa 

McAllen TX 

UTRGV Symphony Orchestra

Megan Maddaleno 

Land O Lakes FL 

University of Tampa Symphony Orchestra

Carolyn Watson

Kansas City MO

University of Illinois Symphony Orchestra

NATIONAL FINALISTS: The American Prize in Orchestral Programming—Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award (non-collegiate division), 2025

John B. Gordon 

Round Rock TX 

Williamson County Symphony Orchestra

Jim Kollias 

Tustin CA 

Beckman HS String Orchestra

Ho-Yin Kwok 

Cayuga NY 

Mississippi Valley Orchestra

Phillip Lenberg 

Ukiah CA 

Ukiah Symphony Orchestra 

Andrew Price 

Summerville SC 

Summerville Orchestra 

Stephen Michael Smith 

New York NY 

Orchestra at Shelter Rock 

David J. Stordalen 

Mankato MN 

Mankato Area Youth Symphony Orchestra

K. Trey Thompson

Cedar Park TX 

Bluebonnet Philharmonic Orchestra

Felix Torres 

Mesquite TX 

Mesquite Symphony Orchestra

*** 

We invite finalists to make the most of their selection by announcing it on social media, and including a link to this announcement on their website or blog. 

Here is a sample announcement:

"Great News! I've just been selected as a finalist in the (blank) division of The American Prize National Non-profit Competitions in the Performing Arts. Here's the link: (copy link here). The American Prize will be announcing winners in my division soon. You can learn more about this prestigious national competition here: www.theamericanprize.org or follow the news on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-American-Prize-celebrating-American-excellence-in-the-arts/214320622728 or Twitter: https://twitter.com/americanprize "

Please feel free to modify or expand this announcement to suit your needs.

Congratulations to all finalists.