Staff Bios & Photos

Caleb Ketcham

Low brass multi-instrumentalist Caleb Ketcham (tenor trombone, bass trombone, euphonium) is a dynamic musician and educator based in Carmel, IN. He is currently the Principal Trombone of Orchestra Indiana (2022 – current) and can often be found performing with the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra and various other local ensembles. As a soloist, Caleb won the Edwards/Big 12 Area Trombone Conference’s Bass Trombone Competition twice in 2011 and 2013, and the International Trombone Association’s George Roberts Solo Competition in 2011. Caleb’s trombone quartet won the Courtois Trombone Quartet Competition in 2012. In addition to performing duties, Caleb maintains a vibrant low brass private teaching studio for the Carmel Clay School District and serves as Orchestra Indiana’s Stage Manager. Caleb holds music degrees from Oklahoma State University and Indiana University. He is currently completing a Doctorate of Music at Indiana University. His primary music teachers include Denson Paul Pollard, Carl Lenthe, Peter Ellefson, Linda Pearse, and Paul Compton.

Sam Condon

Where did you grow up and where do you live now?
I grew up in Anderson, Indiana and now live in Muncie, Indiana

What musical background do you have?
Other than a few years of high school show choir under my belt, I do not come from a musical background. However, thanks to parents and grandparents, I grew up listening to just about every kind of music you can imagine, from classic oldies and rock, to today’s current hits. What I like about music and the arts, is that no matter what type of performance event you are watching (or maybe even participating in), each event has a unique passion and drive to bring people from all walks of together, making them a part of history.

What does your job with Orchestra Indiana entail?
As the Office Assistant for Orchestra Indiana, my job is to provide all of the assistance that I can to my fellow staff members in the handling and completion of any tasks, projects and event needs that are asked of me.

How long have you worked for OI?
I have worked part-time for OI since January 2022.

What are your hobbies outside of work?
Reading, writing, photography, traveling, hiking, exploring art museums, spending time with family and friends, binge watching TV shows, and often indulging in too much chocolate.

What’s a fun fact about you that most people don’t know?
My favorite animal is a giraffe. I am never without chips & salsa, and yes, I consider it to be an entire meal.

James Thompson

Dr. James Thompson serves as Education Coordinator for Orchestra Indiana, the same position he held with the former Muncie Symphony Orchestra since 2019. In this role, he manages all aspects of the orchestra’s education and community outreach programming, including Young People’s Concerts, the Patricia Tretick Young Artist Competition, and the Together in Music and Music on the Move programs. Collectively, he has executed over 230 education and community events that have reached more than 22,000 people across East Central Indiana since 2019.

In addition to this administrative work, Dr. Thompson enjoys an active career as a flutist and teacher. Dr. Thompson has performed on three continents in diverse venues ranging from LA’s Walt Disney Concert Hall to medieval Italian churches to the Great Wall of China. He has been named a winner of the National Flute Association’s Graduate Research and Masterclass competitions; and has appeared as a concerto soloist with the New Chicago Chamber Orchestra, the Southern Illinois Symphony, the Ball State University Symphony Orchestra, and the Illinois State University Symphony Orchestra. He has performed at numerous National Flute Association conventions and the College Music Society National Conference.

An avid chamber musician, Dr. Thompson recently cofounded the Middle C Collective, a flute, bassoon, and viola trio dedicated to expanding the repertoire for nonstandard chamber ensembles. The Middle C Collective will perform Lindsey Wiehl’s trio, “Hex’s Bonfire,” at the 2024 American Viola Society Festival in Los Angeles. Equally at home in orchestral settings, Dr. Thompson currently holds the 3rd Flute & Piccolo chair with Symphony of the Lakes and is a regular performer in several regional orchestras.

Dr. Thompson currently resides in Muncie, where he teaches music history courses at Ball State University. He also serves as the flute instructor at Earlham College and has an active private studio of flute students. Originally from Cape Girardeau, Missouri, James received a Doctor of Arts in Music from Ball State University in 2019.

Larry Powell

Larry Powell has served as Principal Trumpet with Orchestra Indiana since 2018. He also serves as Principal Trumpet with the orchestras in Anderson, Marion, Owensboro (KY)

Following fourteen years as an adjunct music professor at the University of Indianapolis Larry is now currently an Associate Faculty member at IUPUI in the Music & Arts Technology department. Larry received his Suzuki Trumpet training in 2021 and is now on the faculty of the Indianapolis Suzuki Academy. He is among some of the first trained and registered Suzuki Trumpet Teachers in the United States. He also taught at the University of Tennessee.

Larry earned his bachelors in music education from the University of Indianapolis, and his masters in trumpet performance from Butler University.

In his spare time he loves playing tennis with his family, early morning marathon training runs, and hosting the studioHFL podcast where he interviews musicians from around the world.