Christopher Cramer

Meet Christopher Cramer

• D.M.A., University of Wisconsin-Madison
• M.M., University of Wisconsin-Madison
• B.F.A., University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

As a soloist and chamber musician, classical guitarist Christopher Cramer has performed in the U.S., Canada, and Asia. Recent concert engagements have taken him to major cities including Boston, Montréal, Singapore and Taipei among others. From the renowned National Concert Hall in Taiwan to the extraordinary Eastman Museum in New York, concert season highlights have included featured performances at a variety of unique and historic venues including the prestigious National Taiwan University, Suzuki Guitar Singapore, Bibliothèque publique Eleanor London Côte Saint-Luc, the National Music Museum, as well as a broadcast performance on Wisconsin Public Radio’s acclaimed Sunday Afternoon Live from the Chazen concert series.

From college campuses to performing arts centers, Dr. Cramer has presented numerous solo recitals featuring an expansive repertoire that includes masterworks of the past as well as newly composed works by contemporary composers. Dr. Cramer made his concerto debut performing Antonio Vivaldi’s Concerto in D major for guitar and strings with the Madison East Orchestra. More recently, he has appeared with the Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez. As a chamber musician, Dr. Cramer has performed with a variety of instrumentalists and ensembles including the Beloit College Masterworks Chorus, the Edgewood College Chamber Singers, the St. Norbert Abbey Choir, the St. Norbert College Chamber Singers and Men’s Chorus, and the UW-Madison University Opera. Dr. Cramer also performs regularly, both nationally and internationally, with award-winning soprano Yi-Lan Niu. An advocate of new music, Dr. Cramer has collaborated with and premiered works by a number of contemporary composers including Hong Kong composer Chiwei Hui, New York-based composer Alexander Nohai-Seaman, and Texas-based composer Blake Henson.

Dr. Cramer currently serves on the faculty at Beloit College, Ripon College, and St. Norbert College where he founded and heads the guitar program. He also serves as the director of guitar instruction at the Madison Academy of Music in Madison, Wisconsin. In addition to academic teaching, Dr. Cramer also presents programs in schools and community centers for those interested in learning more about the guitar and its music.

Dr. Cramer began his music studies at the University of Wisconsin-Manitowoc where he won a number of awards including the UW-Manitowoc County Fine Arts Award in the Area of Music. He went on to complete his undergraduate training at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music where he won first place in the annual WCM scholarship competition in classical guitar. Continuing his studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dr. Cramer earned both his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in music performance. While at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dr. Cramer undertook an intensive study of instrumental conducting, ultimately leading to a doctoral minor in the discipline and the opportunity to work with the UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra.