Three Palm Beach County Music Educators Strike High Note with 2025 Frank Prize

Three trailblazing women are taking center stage in Palm Beach County’s music scene after being named the 2025 recipients of the Randolph A. Frank Prize for Performing Arts. Awarded annually by Palm Beach Symphony, the prize honors individual performing artists and educators who have made a lasting impact on the region’s cultural life. This year marks the first time all three recipients are women — a trio of musical mentors whose influence resonates from concert halls to classrooms.

The winners, Nancy Beebe, Evgeniya Antonyan and Amrutha Murthy, were selected for their exceptional artistic contributions, commitment to education, and dedication to fostering young talent. Since 2019, the prize has recognized up to three honorees each year, who split a $10,000 award. These women join a growing list of luminaries helping to shape the future of music in South Florida.

Nancy Beebe, who recently retired from Bak Middle School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, taught for 37 years, including 27 as the school’s string director. Her students have played everywhere from Carnegie Hall to the Royal Academy of Music in London, and her orchestras consistently earned top marks at the Florida Orchestra Association’s music performance assessments. Former students include Jeffery Adkins, now a double bassist with the Palm Beach Symphony and the orchestra director at Dreyfoos School of the Arts, and Kelsey Lin, who will step into Beebe’s former role at Bak this fall. Even after retirement, Beebe continues to serve as a great conductor and adjudicator, having previously led both The Florida Orchestra Association and the state chapter of the American String Teachers Association.

While Beebe’s impact spans decades, violinist and teacher Evgeniya Antonyan is shaping Palm Beach County’s music future right now. Originally from Russia, Antonyan teaches orchestra at Berkshire Elementary School and the King’s Academy, in addition to running a private violin and viola studio. Her students regularly earned top honors in competitions and are accepted into prestigious art programs like Bak and Dreyfoos. A graduate of the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory, Antonyan performs with the Palm Beach Symphony, Palm Beach Opera and Atlantic Classical Orchestra, among others. She was also tapped to judge the All-County Orchestra violin auditions in both 2023 and 2025, adding to her growing reputation as a leader in local education.

Amrutha Murthy, the youngest of the honorees, is already making waves as band director at Park Vista Community High School in Lake Worth. Since stepping into the role in 2022, Murthy has led her bands to state and national acclaim. Park Vista marching band was named a 2024 Band of America Orlando finalist and placed third in the Florida Marching Band Coalition finals. Under her baton, the school’s ensemble earned a spot at the Music for All Orlando Affiliate Festival, and in 2023, the band won the Otto J. Kraushaar Award for Superior Performance at the state level. A gifted flutist with a double degree in music education and flute performance from the University of North Texas, Murthy has also performed on composer albums and Gia publication records. She has also been selected to conduct symposia at top institutions across the country.

The Randolph A. Frank Prize was established in 2009 by Nancy and Jay Parker in memory of their friend Dr. Randolph A. Frank, a devout arts patron. Managed by the Palm Beach Symphony since 2019, the prize is part of the organization’s broader commitment to arts education and community engagement. The symphony itself has reached more than 75,000 students through its education programs, which include instrument donations, children’s concerts, and free performances throughout the county.

These three honorees may be in different stages of their careers but their passion for music and teaching is equally powerful whether it’s leading a school orchestra to Carnegie Hall preparing students for their first violin audition or guiding a marching band to the national stage, Beebe, Antonyan and Murthy have all found ways to make music matter and ensure its future is an excellent hands.