Described by San Francisco Classical Voice as “crisp and imaginative,” California-based percussionist and educator Christopher Clarino is known for fostering dynamic collaborations between composers and performers. He holds degrees from the University of California San Diego (DMA), Stony Brook University (MM), and the Eastman School of Music (BM), where he studied with Steven Schick, Eduardo Leandro, John Beck, and Michael Burritt. His doctoral dissertation, At the Intersection of American Sign Language and the Performer-Percussionist: A Hybrid Practice, explores the relationship between gesture and language in percussion performance. The work examines abstraction, gestural iconicity, corporeality, and cultural ownership while documenting Clarino’s pioneering efforts to merge ASL and percussion into a distinctive form of interdisciplinary performance art. As a performer, Dr. Clarino has appeared at venues and festivals such as Carnegie Hall, Harvard University, Georgetown University, the San Diego Museum of Art, the Ojai Music Festival, and the Percussive Arts Society International Convention. He has been featured as a soloist with ensembles including the Eastman Wind Ensemble, the USMA Concert Band at West Point, the La Jolla Symphony & Chorus, the Fredonia Wind Ensemble, and the Greater Newburgh Symphony Orchestra, and has collaborated with the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Bang on a Can, and Monday Evening Concerts. Dr. Clarino is the founder and instructor of Clarino Music Lessons and teaches at Southwestern College. His upcoming 2025 solo album has been hailed by Fanfare magazine as “a phenomenal disc that deserves every success.” He also appears on recordings released by New World Records, Neuma Records, and Sideband Records.