Bassist Kit Polen performs regularly with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, including joining the orchestra on tours throughout Europe, Asia and the United States. With the CSO, he has worked with conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Jaap van Zweden, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Christian Thielemann and Bernard Haitink. Since 2015, he has served as principal bassist of Camerata Chicago as well as the associate principal of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra in Iowa. A frequent guest in many other ensembles, he often performs with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Joffrey Ballet Chicago. As a chamber musician, Polen has performed with distinguished artists including Leon Fleisher and Yo-Yo Ma, and in summers joins the Caroga Lake Music Festival in upstate New York to perform chamber and orchestral music. Equally comfortable outside the traditional symphonic setting, he has collaborated with CSO’s MusicNOW series, the Chicago Composer’s Orchestra, and has also been a part of multiple Grammy-nominated R&B recordings. He lives in Chicago with his wife, Joyce.
