The work of guitarist, composer, and vocalist Chris Ruebens blends classical, jazz, and world music, creating a unique and bold sound. Performing with the Baltic Guitar Quartet, the Chris Ruebens Ensemble, the Strung Out guitar duo, and in various other projects, he has toured across Europe and Asia. His compositions have won international competitions and are performed, arranged, and recorded by internationally acclaimed artists. Originally from Belgium, he now calls Lithuania home.
Chris (born September 19, 1975, in Eeklo, Belgium) began playing guitar at the age of nine (teachers: Peter Gykiere and Wim Van Holderbeke). In 1999, tutored by Peter Pieters, he graduated from the music academy in Leuven (Lemmens Institute). A few years later, he was awarded two master’s degrees with distinction: in chamber music and in contemporary and postmodern music under the guidance of Godelieve Monden.
While still studying at the academy, he co-founded the guitar quartet “Koa” (2001) with like-minded musicians. The group recorded and released a CD of postmodern chamber music titled KOA (2005). Later, together with two jazz musicians, Chris formed the ensemble “Luz de luna”. On the album „Moods“, released in 2010, they have collected a fine selection of their own compositions, presenting a well-balanced mix of world music, classical music and jazz. Chris has also performed and sung in blues, rock, pop, and disco bands, and participated in theater projects. In addition to guitar, he plays flugelhorn and baritone, having performed for many years in his hometown’s wind orchestra.
In 2008, Chris moved to Vilnius and joined the Baltic Guitar Quartet. Shortly after his arrival, the quartet recorded the album Dancing with Guitar (2008), followed by Tradicion nuevo (2014). In 2024, the ensemble celebrated its 20th anniversary and released the Lithuanian music album Pievų taku. The quartet performs throughout Europe and Asia and has been invited to appear in renowned concert halls such as the Berlin Philharmonie, London’s Southbank Centre, and the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing. The ensemble is considered the leading guitar ensemble of the Baltic States and in the Baltic region, highly regarded for its sensitive, refined, yet unpretentious musicianship and original repertoire.
In 2012, seeking new musical challenges, Chris brought together Lithuanian jazz, pop, and world music performers to form the “Chris Ruebens Ensemble.” His compositions for this group combine elements of Brazilian, Eastern, classical, blues, and jazz music. The diversity of these musical colors creates an ideal space for improvisation and unexpected sounds. The result can be heard on the album The Yellow Duck (2013), which was voted best by listeners at The Independent Music Awards.
Audiences have been particularly captivated by Chris’s charisma in his vocal programs Café de Paris and Life is a Movie, featuring his arrangements of French songs and film music.
After many years of performing in various ensembles, Chris created his own solo program consisting of original compositions and arrangements. The program Muy bien, Adios! premiered in July 2018 at the Christopher Summer Festival. His solo performances have delighted and surprised both jazz and classical music audiences.
In addition to his own projects, Chris enjoys collaborating with other musicians, including Renata Marcinkutė-Lesieur, Vladimir Tarasov, the Carl Verheyen Band, Martynas Levickis and Mikroorkéstra, Vykintas Baltakas, Saulius Petreikis World Orchestra, Renata Dubinskaitė, the Belgian ensemble “Het Collectief,” the Lithuanian Ensemble Network, the Vilnius Municipal Choir Jauna Muzika, the St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra, and others.
Chris shares his love of music through teaching guitar—he has been teaching in music schools, camps, and festivals for over twenty years.
As a composer, Chris creates educational works for children as well as compositions for guitar and other instruments. His Fantasy No. 1 (2014) won first prize at the Acerra International Composers Competition in Italy. In 2016, he presented his concerto for guitar quartet and chamber orchestra, Stories of a Common Man, as well as an arrangement of Gitana Linda for four guitars and orchestra.
In 2022, together with Renata Dubinskaitė, he initiated the program A King’s Daughter’s Dream: Traditional Melodies From Old Europe, featuring Chris’s arrangements of early and folk European music, performed with Remigijus Rančys. Since 2024, he has been performing in an ongoing duo with rising Lithuanian jazz guitarist and composer Mindaugas Stumbras, blending elements of classical, jazz, and world music. In 2025, the duo released their debut album, Strung Out, featuring original compositions by both musicians.
