Sunderman Conservatory of Music

Dr. Kris Monson is a versatile double bassist, active as a performer and teacher in New York City and the mid-Atlantic region. He is known as a passionate and inspiring music educator, skilled in teaching various musical styles. As a performer, Monson has had the honor of working with many top musicians in the international jazz, contemporary, and new music scenes – including Marc Cary, Tyshawn Sorey, Vince Mendoza, Veronica Swift, Steve Wilson, Ari Hoenig, Charles Owens, and Rex Richardson – on stages including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Opera America, the Panama Jazz Festival, the Providencia Jazz Festival in Santiago, Chile, Smalls Jazz Club, and Blues Alley.

A graduate of the New England Conservatory (DMA), the Manhattan School of Music (MM), and the University of Virginia (BS in Systems Engineering and Music), Monson has studied with jazz legends Buster Williams and Dave Holland, as well as renowned classical bassists Don Palma (Orpheus Chamber Orchestra), Orin O'Brien (New York Philharmonic), and David Grossman (New York Philharmonic). Additional influential mentors include John D’earth, Ken Schaphorst, and Katarina Miljkovic.

A passionate educator, Dr. Monson is the newly appointed Adjunct Assistant Professor of Double Bass at the Sunderman Conservatory of Music at Gettysburg College. In addition, he teaches double bass, composition, music theory, and improvisation at the Manhattan School of Music summer program. He has previously taught music fundamentals at George Mason University and served as a graduate teaching fellow at the New England Conservatory for various courses in the jazz studies and music theory departments. An in-demand clinician, Monson has given master classes at schools across the country, including the University of Texas at San Antonio, the University of Central Arkansas, the University of Virginia, Sewanee: The University of the South, Furman University, and the University of Mary Washington.

As a researcher, Monson has presented at international and national conferences for the College Music Society (2025 Medellín, Colombia; 2024 Washington, D.C.; 2023 Tallinn, Estonia), the Jazz Education Network (2024 New Orleans, LA; 2022 Dallas, TX), and the International Society of Bassists (2023 Ann Arbor, MI). Upcoming presentations include the 2026 Jazz Education Network Conference in New Orleans, LA, and the Symposium on Historic American Music at Susquehanna University.

As a performer and composer, current and recent projects include his 2024 album, Option to Extend; his extended composition, Suite for Charlottesville: Regarding the August 2017 Unite the Right Rally; performances with Dr. Jorge Variego's Imaginary Folklore, a clarinet-bandoneon-double bass trio that celebrates new music by Argentine composers; and extensive performances with Veronica Swift, Charles Owens, Joshua Espinoza, and others. Upcoming engagements include Allentown’s Miller Symphony Hall, George Mason University’s Center for the Arts, Baltimore’s Keystone Korner, and international artist residencies in Differdange, Luxembourg and Tbilisi, Georgia.