Kris Saebo leads a varied musical life as a bassist, producer, and teacher. Mr. Saebo is on faculty at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He is a founding member of Decoda, the Affiliate Ensemble of Carnegie Hall, and is the past Co-Director of Decoda Chamber Music Festival. In this capacity, he has spent the last ten summers performing, coaching young artists, and engaging with the surrounding communities of the festival.

Kris tours and performs regularly with NOVUS NY, A Far Cry, and the Mark Morris Dance Group. He has collaborated with many notable chamber ensembles including the Attacca, Dover, and Parker Quartets. Kris loves playing music of diverse genres and has worked with artists such as Sir Simon Rattle, Dawn Upshaw, Jamey Haddad, Trey Anastasio, and Nas.

As a recording artist, Kris can be heard on several films and TV soundtracks including Little Women, Venom, and Succession. Other recordings include John Zorn’s Fragmentations, Prayers And Interjections and Tyondai Braxton’s Central Market.

As a producer, Kris has recorded, edited, and mixed several classical chamber music and solo albums, released or soon to be released. He has also composed music for two documentaries and is working on his third.

Kris received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from The Juilliard School, where his primary teachers were Homer Mensch and Orin O’Brien. He also held the prestigious Ensemble Connect fellowship as a member of its inaugural class. In his free time, Kris enjoys cooking and spending time with his family.

 

Kris gives us a sneak peek into his portion of the Mozart, Mendelssohn, and Magic program. (2024)