Christopher Howard

Dr. Christopher Howard is a percussionist, sound engineer, and educator who specializes in creating and performing contemporary music. Focusing on electroacoustic works, he has performed at conferences including the Percussive Arts Society International Conference, Machine Fantasies, Circuit Bridges, Omaha Under the Radar, the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, and the New York City Electroacoustic Improvisation Summit. He frequently collaborates with composers such as Margaret Schedel, Seth Cluett, Cort Lippe, and Alexa Dexa to create new sound worlds by finding resonances in ordinary objects.

As a performer and sound engineer, he has worked on his own solo projects and for groups like Contemporaneous, Iktus Percussion Group, and the Contemporary Chamber Players. He has also worked with Yarn/Wire as a production assistant and sound engineer to run the Yarn/Wire Institute, a summer music festival for composers, pianists, and percussionists.

Outside of the avant-garde music world, Christopher has performed in many other styles and settings. He performed and toured internationally with the award-winning Fountain City Brass Band for 4 years, playing both orchestral and pop music. Jazz and improvisation have also long been a part of his music background, as he has performed with artists such as Vinko Globokar, Ray Anderson, and Lluis Capdevila.

In his role as an educator, he instructs classes on a variety of music tech software, and has served on the Percussive Arts Society Music Technology Committee. He obtained his BM in Percussion Performance from the University of Missouri-Kansas City under Nick Petrella and received his MM and DMA at SUNY Stony Brook under Eduardo Leandro.

In addition to his musical work, Chris has served as the Assistant Director of Operations and Events at the Stony Brook University Campus Life Centers, where he has supervised 100+ student and professional staff to ensure the smooth execution of over 15,000 meetings and events a year across multiple buildings.