2025 Karin Larson YourClassical Prize winner Agnes Barthel

The winner of the Karin Larson YourClassical Prize, Preprofessional Musician category, is Agnes Barthel of Duluth, Minnesota. Her entry featuring her organ performance of Cecilia McDowall’s “Church Bells beyond the stars” was chosen by YourClassical listeners as the submission that best celebrated women in classical music.

Barthel received $12,500, studio time in MPR’s renowned Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Studio, and the opportunity to perform at an MPR board meeting in June of 2025.

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Agnes Barthel performs for the MPR Board

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Preprofessional Musician winner Agnes Barthel shares her reaction to Karin Larson YourClassical Prize

Agnes Barthel’s winning Karin Larson YourClassical Prize, Preprofessional Musician category, entry

How does your video celebrate women in classical music? “Cecilia McDowall is a contemporary composer whose music brings fresh energy and beauty to the organ repertoire. ‘Church Bells beyond the stars’ showcases her distinctive, lyrical style and captures the shimmering resonance of church bells through flowing, cascading passages. Inspired by a poem by George Herbert, the piece evokes both grandeur and serenity, demonstrating the organ’s ability to create vivid, atmospheric soundscapes. Through works like this, McDowall helps keep the organ vibrant and relevant in the modern classical world; something that is deeply inspirational for young organists like myself. By choosing this piece, I hope to honor her contributions and help bring greater recognition to female composers who have often been overlooked. I also want to help inspire other young musicians, especially young girls, to explore music by women composers, and discover the powerful role we play in shaping the future of classical music.”

What would winning this prize mean to you? “Winning this prize would mean a great deal to me as a young organist who is passionate about this incredible instrument. I am especially committed to promoting music by women composers, and it would be an honor to help bring greater recognition to these works in the organ world, and beyond. Most of all, I think it would be a powerful way to show that the pipe organ is not just a historic or ‘dying’ instrument, but very much alive and full of exciting possibilities for the future. This prize would encourage me to continue learning, performing, and encouraging other young people to explore the organ, as we try to create space for new voices, perspectives, and a new generation of musicians in the current world of classical music.”