Chris Howard performs regularly across the United States as a soloist and chamber musician. Originally from San Antonio, Texas, he currently serves as a clarinetist with the United States Coast Guard Band, one of the finest wind bands active in the world today. As a member of the Coast Guard Band, Chris has performed with the Concert Band and the USCG Chamber Winds in more than 30 states, Japan, and Taiwan. He performed as a concerto soloist with the ensemble in 2007 and 2014, and is an active member of the Coast Guard Band’s Clarinet Quartet, with performances at New York City’s Weill Recital Hall and multiple appearances at the International Clarinet Association’s annual conventions. Additionally, Mr. Howard served as principal clarinetist and concertmaster with the U.S. Navy Band Northwest in Seattle, WA, principal clarinetist of the Bremerton Symphony Orchestra in Bremerton, WA, and second and solo E-flat clarinetist with the Tallahassee Symphony in Tallahassee, FL. He holds degrees in clarinet from the University of Texas at Austin and The Florida State University. His primary teachers include Larry Mentzer, Richard MacDowell, and Frank Kowalsky, additional studies with Richard Hawkins and Mark Nuccio. He lives in Plainfield, CT, with his wife, Kacey, four-year-old son Benjamin, and baby girl, Caroline....and a cat. There's a cat: Maggie.