Christopher Clarino
percussionist · ASL-integrated performance ·
field recording
“A welcome addition to the contemporary percussion oeuvre.” - Percussive Notes
“It is Clarino’s artistry that defines the significance of this release.” - Fanfare
“Clarino’s synchronization was so crisp and imaginative…” - San Francisco Classical Voice
Short Bio
Christopher Clarino is a percussionist whose work spans contemporary classical performance, American Sign Language–integrated music, and field recording. His debut album Parlando (Neuma Records, 2025) received critical acclaim in Fanfare and Percussive Notes. He holds a DMA from UC San Diego, where he studied with Steven Schick.
Christopher Clarino es un percusionista cuyo trabajo abarca la interpretación de música clásica contemporánea, la música integrada con Lengua de Señas Americana (ASL) y la grabación de campo. Su álbum debut Parlando (Neuma Records, 2025) recibió elogios de la crítica en Fanfare y Percussive Notes. Obtuvo su Doctorado en Artes Musicales en la University of California San Diego, donde estudió con Steven Schick.
Long Bio
Percussionist Christopher Clarino works at the intersection of contemporary classical performance, American Sign Language–integrated music, and field recording. Described as "crisp and imaginative" by San Francisco Classical Voice, his practice places gesture, embodiment, and listening at the center of musical interpretation.
His debut solo album Parlando (Neuma Records, 2025) was praised by Fanfare as a recording defined by "Clarino's artistry," and called "a welcome addition to the contemporary percussion oeuvre" by Percussive Notes. Over the past decade he has commissioned a body of works integrating ASL into solo percussion performance from composers including Larry Polansky, Carolyn Chen, Marc Perez, Lydia Winsor Brindamour, and Yiheng Yvonne Wu. He premiered Polansky's VEDITZ at UC San Diego, performed it at PASIC, and in 2023 organized a ten-stop tour of Stockhausen's INORI across the United States and Brazil, giving the work's U.S. and Brazilian premieres.
Clarino has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Noon to Midnight marathon, the Festival Internacional Cervantino, and the Ojai Music Festival. He holds a DMA from UC San Diego, where he studied with Steven Schick. He divides his time between San Diego and Mexico City.
El percusionista Christopher Clarino trabaja en la intersección entre la interpretación de música clásica contemporánea, la música integrada con Lengua de Señas Americana (ASL) y la grabación de campo. Descrito como "preciso e imaginativo" por San Francisco Classical Voice, su práctica sitúa el gesto, la corporalidad y la escucha en el centro de la interpretación musical.
Su álbum debut Parlando (Neuma Records, 2025) fue reconocido por Fanfare como una grabación definida por "el arte de Clarino", y descrito por Percussive Notes como "una bienvenida adición al repertorio contemporáneo de percusión". Durante la última década ha comisionado un cuerpo de obras que integran la ASL con la interpretación percusiva solista, de compositores como Larry Polansky, Carolyn Chen, Marc Perez, Lydia Winsor Brindamour y Yiheng Yvonne Wu. Estrenó VEDITZ de Polansky en UC San Diego, la interpretó en PASIC y, en 2023, organizó una gira de diez presentaciones de INORI de Stockhausen por Estados Unidos y Brasil, ofreciendo los estrenos estadounidense y brasileño de la obra.
Clarino se ha presentado en el Carnegie Hall, el maratón Noon to Midnight de la Los Angeles Philharmonic, el Festival Internacional Cervantino y el Ojai Music Festival. Obtuvo su Doctorado en Artes Musicales en la University of California San Diego, donde estudió con Steven Schick. Divide su tiempo entre San Diego y la Ciudad de México.
Press Photos
Featured Video: VEDITZ
George Veditz was the president of the National Association of the Deaf in 1913. He gave this lecture The Preservation of the Sign Language in direct response to the Milan Congress of 1880, where 164 hearing educators voted to ban sign language from deaf education and mandate oralism. Veditz understood that if ASL wasn't documented on film, it could be lost entirely.
In Polansky's piece, I perform three things simultaneously. I sign alongside Veditz in real time. I speak fragmented portions of the English text. And I play percussion. I sign left-handed while Veditz signs right-handed, so we're mirrored. I also tend to sign slightly ahead of him in order to give myself time to pick up mallets, which means the audience sees a visual canon, where my signs arrive first and his follow.
Selected Works & Projects:
2023 Tour: Karlheinz Stockhausen: INORI (1974)
Project [BLANK], Salty Series performance - San Diego, CA
sfSounds, Mosswood Sound Series performance - Oakland, CA
UC Berkeley lecture - Berkeley, CA
SESC Pompeia performance - São Paulo, Brazil (Brazilian Premiere)
William Paterson University performance - Wayne, NJ
Penn State University performance and lecture - University Park, PA
Eastman School of Music performance and lecture - Rochester, NY
Constellation: Frequency Series performance - Chicago, IL
University of Nebraska, Kearney performance and lecture (US Premiere)
Larry Polansky: VEDITZ
April in Santa Cruz Festival of Creative Music - Santa Cruz, CA - 2026
PASIC New Music/Research Evening Concert - Indianapolis, IN - 2021
Cross-Wired Percussion Symposium - La Jolla, CA - 2019
Oh My Ears Music Festival - Phoenix, AZ - 2019
UCSD DMA Recital - La Jolla, CA - 2019
Carolyn Chen: Threads
California Electronic Music Exchange - La Jolla, CA - 2018
UCSD Grad Forum - La Jolla, CA - 2014
SBU Masters Recital - Stony Brook, NY - 2013
Yiheng Yvonne Wu: Your Hat
Oh My Ears Music Festival - Phoenix, AZ - 2019
UCSD DMA Recital - La Jolla, CA - 2019
University of Tennessee Contemporary Music Festival - Knoxville, TN - 2018
Lydia Winsor Brindamour: early morning (dew, spiderweb)
Oh My Ears Music Festival - Phoenix, AZ - 2019
UCSD DMA Recital - La Jolla, CA - 2019
UCSD DMA Recital - La Jolla, CA - 2016
Tiange Zhou: Me/Monologue
UCSD SpringFest - La Jolla, CA - 2018
UCSD DMA Recital - La Jolla, CA - 2018
Marc Perez: Ready, Play
April in Santa Cruz Festival of Creative Music - Santa Cruz, CA - 2026
Aristéa Mellos: Web of Threads
Hot Air Music Festival - San Francisco, CA - 2022