December 18, 2025
Butler School of Music alumna Lisa Holt, head choir director at Cedar Park High School in the Leander Independent School District, has been named one of 10 finalists for the 2026 Grammy Music Educator Award. The award honors a music teacher each year who has made a significant and lasting impact on music education.
With more than two decades of experience, Holt now stands among the top 10 educators selected from thousands of nominees nationwide. She is the only finalist from Texas.
The nomination came as a surprise to Holt.
“It started with a parent nomination,” she said. “Any parent in the United States can nominate a teacher.”
After the initial nomination, candidates move through multiple rounds that include extensive paperwork and teaching videos. Each stage requires additional documentation and footage, culminating in the final selection of 10 finalists.
Lisa Holt conducts the Cedar Park High School choir and the Austin Symphony.
Holt began teaching at Cedar Park High School while she was still a student at the Butler School of Music.
“I student-taught there in 2006 while I was at UT, and then I was able to step into the assistant director role right away,” she said.
She later became the head choir director and has grown the program to include 220 students. Holt oversees nine vocal ensembles, as well as musical theatre classes and both male and female barbershop groups.
At Butler, Holt initially focused on vocal performance, participating in numerous operas and studying abroad in Europe.
“My junior year, I realized my career was going to be conducting rather than performing onstage,” she said.
She credits Butler’s flexibility for allowing her to explore a wide range of opportunities.
“My advice is to immerse yourself in everything,” Holt said. “I really took advantage of those opportunities, and they paid off tenfold. Anytime someone asked, ‘Would you like to do this?’ I tried to say yes.”
We caught up with Maestro Holt as she rehearsed her choir for a collaborative performance with the Austin Symphony Orchestra. Symphony conductor Peter Bay explained that when their longtime choir collaborator retired, “Everyone I talked to said, ‘You have to get Lisa.’”
The performance presents a monumental challenge for the high school choir on multiple levels. First, the students are partnering with a nationally recognized orchestra. Second, the concert accompanies a live screening of the film Home Alone, requiring flawless timing to remain synchronized with the movie.
To achieve this precision, Holt conducts the choir while wearing an earpiece that plays a click track. She must simultaneously lead the singers, follow Peter Bay’s conducting, and watch visual cues on a massive screen above the choir.
Lisa Holt conducts the choir while following Peter Bay’s direction of the orchestra.
“It’s exciting,” Holt said. “This is a big event, and the kids are starting to feel the breadth of the production.”
Outside the classroom, Holt also conducts the SoCo Women’s Chorus, an Austin-based female ensemble. The SoCo Women’s Chorus is an auditioned treble choir founded in 2012 to provide Central Texas singers with the experience of a high-caliber vocal ensemble.
Lisa Holt conducts with the orchestra under a giant film screen.
The winner of the 2026 Grammy Music Educator Award will be announced in February. The recipient will attend the Grammy Awards ceremony and receive a $10,000 personal award, along with a matching grant for their school’s music program.
Cedar Park High School performed with the Austin Symphony Orchestra during Home Alone in Concert on Wednesday, December 17, 2025 at the Long Center’s Dell Hall.