Thomas Zehetmair, Principle Conductor of the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester since the 2019/2020 season and Chef principal of the Orchestre National d’Auvergne since 2020, has concerned himself with leading orchestras since the beginning of his soloist carrier. As teachers, he claims Michael Gielen, David Zinman, Sir Neville Marriner and Michael Schønwandt. Other invaluable influences came from Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Frans Brüggen.

Thomas Zehetmair is active as a conductor all over the world. Among others, he was Principle Conductor of the Orchestre de chambre de Paris and for many years was an Artistic Partner of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (USA). From 2002 to 2014, he worked as the Music Director – and remains to the present Conductor Laureate – of the Royal Northern Sinfonia and helped establish it as one of the leading orchestras in England, documented by recordings of symphonies by Schubert, Schumann, Sibelius, Hans Gál and newly discovered orchestral works by Britten. Conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, Daniel Barenboim, Herbert Blomstedt and many others have influenced his soloist carrier, which has been recognized through three “Gramophone Awards” and numerous other awards for CD recording.

A tour of China with the SKO is planned for this year. Further tours will take Thomas Zehetmair to the USA and South Korea. He continues his long-standing relationship with the Irish Chamber Orchestra as Principal Conductor at the International Kilkenny Festival, among others.
Concerts with the Zehetmair Quartet, founded in 1994, will take him to Amsterdam, Echternach and the north of England.

His acclaimed recording of Bach’s “Sei Solo” on the baroque violin was awarded the Opus Klassik 2020. In 2019, the New York Times started its best list with this CD, and it was also one of the six recommendations of the year in “Die Zeit”. At the 2021 Salzburg Festival, Thomas Zehetmair set an example with the performance of all “Sei Solo” in one evening.

Since 2023, a new album series has been available on the “SKO records” label with works by Beethoven, Brahms and Schönberg (#1), Schubert (#2) as well as Bartók and Adams (#3), which impressively documents Zehetmair’s joint work with the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester.
Another highly acclaimed recording is the CD released by ECM in 2023 with Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, Bartók’s Viola Concerto and a commissioned work by John Casken, recorded with the Royal Northern Sinfonia.

Zehetmair has received honorary doctorates from the Universities of Weimar and Newcastle upon Tyne.