Recognized for his “musical sensitivity” and “energized sense of interpretation”, Matthew Kraemer is quickly making his mark among young American conductors for his inspired performances and versatility.  The Buffalo News noted recently, “He presents a tall, dignified and stately podium presence with a quite clear beat, a good sense of shaping melodic lines, and an all business attitude that focused on the music without any histrionics.”  Following an extensive international search, Mr. Kraemer was recently appointed Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, beginning July 2015. He additionally begins his fourth season as Music Director and Conductor of the Butler County Symphony and the Erie Chamber Orchestra, where he has reinvigorated both ensembles with innovative programming and elevated performance standards.  His active guest conducting schedule has included appearances with many of the nation’s finest orchestras, including the Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Columbus, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Nashville, North Carolina, Saint Louis, Spokane, Syracuse, and Virginia symphony orchestras, as well as Canada’s Mississauga Symphony and Hamilton Philharmonic and in Europe with the Vidin Philharmonic and the Orquesta de Cadaqués.  Upcoming season highlights include productions of Michael Nymans’s The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Jonathan Dove’s Mansfield Park with Indianapolis Opera, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly with the Erie Chamber Orchestra, Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho with live orchestral accompaniment,and performances with Midori and the Metropolitan Opera National Council finalists.  The 2015-16 season also brings return engagements to the Rochester Philharmonic and Elgin Symphony.

In three short years as Music Director of the Erie Chamber Orchestra, the ensemble has flourished artistically.  The orchestra is experiencing a rapidly expanding audience base and increased community support, all while maintaining its 36-year mission of providing exceptional classical music free of charge to northwestern Pennsylvania.  The Butler County Symphony is experiencing a similar resurgence in artistic output and community support, attracting new subscribers and offering education concerts at no expense to the county’s elementary schools.

Mr. Kraemer recently completed a highly successful, five-year tenure as associate conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic, where he regularly led the orchestra on each of its concert series.  A passionate advocate for new music, he has performed the works of many living composers during his career.  He has led composer readings and workshops with several orchestras in the United States, in addition to leading the BPO’s Earshot partnership with the American Composers Orchestra in Buffalo for three consecutive seasons.  Increasingly recognized for his committed advocacy of music education and his devotion to young audiences, he has created numerous arts education programs and has taught at several music festivals both in the United States and abroad.  The Buffalo Philharmonic’s award-winning education concerts grew exponentially under his leadership, expanding to reach over 40,000 students throughout western New York.  He played an integral role in the creation of the orchestra’s successful live broadcast concerts with Time Warner Cable, as well as implementing new collaborations with many organizations in the Buffalo community.  Prior to his appointment in Buffalo, he served for three seasons as associate conductor of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, where he led the orchestra in over 200 performances statewide.  His performances have been broadcast several times on NPR’s Performance Today.

Recipient of the distinguished Herbert von Karajan Conducting Fellowship and the Bruno Walter Career Development Grant, Mr. Kraemer served a residency with the Vienna Philharmonic at the 2006 Salzburg Music Festival.  Equally at home in the ballet pit, he has led fully-staged productions with Virginia Ballet Theatre, Ohio Ballet, First Coast Nutcracker, Neglia Ballet Artists, and Todd Rosenlieb Dance.  As a frequent collaborator with Broadway superstar Idina Menzel, he has served as her conductor for many of her numerous symphony engagements nationwide.  He has also performed with many other leading artists, including Philippe Quint, Jennifer Koh, Elmar Oliveira, Rachel Barton Pine, David Kim, Awadagin Pratt, Richard Stolzman, Wu Man, Bela Fleck, Mark O’Connor, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Ben Folds, Chris Botti, the Indigo Girls, Il Volo, Wynona Judd, and Natalie Merchant, among others.  He conducted the Buffalo Philharmonic to considerable acclaim when internationally renowned superstar Lang Lang performed Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto at Kleinhans Music Hall.

An Indiana native, Mr. Kraemer studied conducting in Vienna, Austria with Salvador Mas Conde and was twice a fellowship conductor at the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen.  He has additionally participated in the National Arts Center Conductor’s Program in Ottawa, Canada.  His conducting teachers include David Zinman, Robert Spano, Stanley DeRusha, and Jorma Panula.  Mr. Kraemer is a graduate of Butler University and the University of Nevada, where he assisted former Cincinnati Symphony concertmaster Phillip Ruder. An accomplished violinist in his own right, he was a member of the Nightingale String Quartet.  Fluent in German and French, his principal violin teachers include Phillip Ruder, Herbert Greenberg, and Larry Shapiro.  When he is not performing, Mr. Kraemer enjoys cooking, running, and reading.