Music Director & Conductor
Joseph T. Kneer
Conductor and violinist Joseph Kneer currently serves as Conductor of the Campanile Orchestra at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, Associate Professor of Music and Conductor of the Trinity Symphony Orchestra at Trinity University, and Music Director of Alamo City Symphony Viva, a concert and ballet orchestra based in San Antonio. Winner of the Audience Choice and Third Prize at the 2023 Los Angeles Conducting Competition, Kneer has conducted numerous orchestras and ensembles, including the Oberlin Chamber Players, the Mercyhurst String Ensemble and community string chamber music program, the Mercyhurst Civic Orchestra, and the Brown Memorial Presbyterian Chancel Choir in Baltimore.
Recent collaborations and engagements include Dvořák’s Violin Concerto with Jinjoo Cho, Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy with pianist Carolyn True, Poulenc’s Gloria with the Trinity University Choir, a period production of Dido and Aeneas with Trinity’s Opera Workshop, Symphony Viva’s production of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, and the premiere of Roger Zare’s commissioned work Neowise for the TSO in May 2021. In demand during the 2023-2024 season, Joseph leads a full year of concerts and ballet performances, including productions of The Nutcracker and Little Red Riding Hood with the Alamo City Dance Company. Conducting mentors include Larry Rachleff, Donald Schleicher, Neil Thomson, Scott Weiss, John Farrer, and Howard Williams.
Kneer holds a B.M. in Violin Performance from Oberlin Conservatory, an M.M. and D.M.A. in Violin Performance from the Peabody Institute, and an M.M. in Theory Pedagogy, also from Peabody. Joseph’s principal violin teachers include Mary West, Milan Vitek, Herbert Greenberg, and Violaine Melançon. Prior teaching appointments include Mercyhurst University and the Peabody Preparatory.
Recent collaborations and engagements include Dvořák’s Violin Concerto with Jinjoo Cho, Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy with pianist Carolyn True, Poulenc’s Gloria with the Trinity University Choir, a period production of Dido and Aeneas with Trinity’s Opera Workshop, Symphony Viva’s production of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, and the premiere of Roger Zare’s commissioned work Neowise for the TSO in May 2021. In demand during the 2023-2024 season, Joseph leads a full year of concerts and ballet performances, including productions of The Nutcracker and Little Red Riding Hood with the Alamo City Dance Company. Conducting mentors include Larry Rachleff, Donald Schleicher, Neil Thomson, Scott Weiss, John Farrer, and Howard Williams.
Kneer holds a B.M. in Violin Performance from Oberlin Conservatory, an M.M. and D.M.A. in Violin Performance from the Peabody Institute, and an M.M. in Theory Pedagogy, also from Peabody. Joseph’s principal violin teachers include Mary West, Milan Vitek, Herbert Greenberg, and Violaine Melançon. Prior teaching appointments include Mercyhurst University and the Peabody Preparatory.
