Joe Kneer, D.M.A.

Conductor and violinist Joseph Kneer currently serves as Associate Professor of Music and Conductor of the Trinity Symphony Orchestra at Trinity University, as well as Music Director of Alamo City Symphony Viva, a concert and ballet orchestra based in San Antonio. Joseph also recently held the position of Conductor of the Campanile Orchestra at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. Under his artistic leadership, both Symphony Viva and the Trinity Symphony Orchestra were named national prize winners in their respective categories for the 2023 American Prize in Orchestral Performance.

Winner of the 34^th International Conductors Workshop and Competition (Atlanta), as well as recipient of the Audience Choice Award and Third Prize at the 2023 Los Angeles Conducting Competition, Kneer has conducted numerous orchestras and ensembles. Recent collaborations and engagements include Dvořák’s Violin Concerto with Jinjoo Cho, Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy with pianist Carolyn True, Brahms’s German Requiem with the Trinity University Choir and Orchestra, a period production of Dido and Aeneas with Trinity’s Opera Workshop, Symphony Viva’s double-bill production of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf and the U.S. premiere of Eloise Gynn’s Little Red Riding Hood, and the world premiere of Roger Zare’s commissioned work Neowise for the TSO in May 2021. In demand during the 2026-2027 season, Joseph leads a full slate of concerts and ballet performances, including full productions of The Nutcracker and Don Quixote with the Alamo City Dance Company and the Arts Connect Education Series with Symphony Viva. Conducting mentors include Larry Rachleff, Donald Schleicher, Neil Thomson, Scott Weiss, John Farrer, Howard Williams, Phillip Greenberg, and Adrian Gnam.

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.