Matthew Kraemer was appointed Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra in July 2015 and has recently extended his commitment to the ICO through 2023. He also serves as Music Director of the Butler County Symphony in western Pennsylvania and was recently appointed Music Director of the Marion Philharmonic.  

His active guest conducting schedule includes 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 Toledo symphony orchestras, as well as Canada’s Mississauga Symphony, Niagara Symphony, and Hamilton Philharmonic and in Europe with the Vidin Philharmonic and the Orquesta de Cadaqués.  Mr. Kraemer has held titled positions with the Buffalo Philharmonic, Virginia Symphony, and Erie Chamber Orchestra. Recipient of the distinguished Herbert von Karajan Conducting Fellowship and the Bruno Walter Career Development Grant, he served a residency with the Vienna Philharmonic at the 2006 Salzburg Music Festival. His performances are broadcast regularly on NPR’s Performance Today. 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.  His conducting teachers include David Zinman, Robert Spano, and Jorma Panula. An accomplished violinist in his own right, Mr. Kraemer is a graduate of Butler University and the University of Nevada. He and his wife Megan reside in Indianapolis with their sons Gabriel and Nathaniel. Mr. Kraemer has been on the NEMC faculty since 2017.