In addition to playing with the Caroga Lake Music Festival, Kit Polen plays with many orchestral ensembles throughout the Midwest. He performs regularly with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, including joining them on tours through Europe, Asia, and the United States. Polen was a featured artist in the CSO MusicNOW series and their “Once Upon a Symphony” series. He also regularly performs with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Philharmonic, and St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.
As a chamber musician, Polen has performed with artists including Leon Fleisher and Yo-Yo Ma. He currently serves as Principal Bass of the Camerata Chicago chamber orchestra. Equally comfortable outside of the traditional symphonic setting, he has collaborated with the Chicago Composer’s Orchestra and has also been a part of multiple Grammy-nominated R&B recordings.
Kit currently lives in Chicago with his fiancé, Joyce. In his free time he enjoys indoor rock climbing, cooking, and traveling.