Clarice Cast is a Brazilian percussionist from São Paulo who built an international music career after moving to the United States in 2005. With studies at Northern Illinois University and CalArts, she has performed at Coachella, taught pandeiro, and helped bring Brazilian rhythms to audiences in California.
Clarice Cast represents the growing presence of Brazilian musicians in California, bringing the rhythms of samba and choro to audiences across the United States.
From Brazilian choro and samba to symphonic percussion, Coachella, and a Grammy-nominated recording, Clarice Cast has built a career shaped by courage, cultural exchange, and an open mind. For percussionist Clarice Nunes Castilho, professionally known as Clarice Cast, music has always been both an artistic calling and a bridge between cultures.
Born and raised in São Paulo, she began performing professionally at only 17, developing her skills within the rich rhythmic traditions of choro and samba. Although no one else in her family was a musician, Clarice received consistent encouragement, especially from her mother and siblings. That support helped her pursue an unconventional path and build experience at an early age.
In Brazil, she performed extensively throughout the state of São Paulo and in Minas Gerais. She was also a percussionist with the Orquestra Paulistana de Viola Caipira, an ensemble dedicated to the sounds and traditions associated with Brazil’s viola caipira. Her musical influences reflect the depth and diversity of Brazilian percussion. Clarice cites Airto Moreira, Roberta Valente, Naná Vasconcelos, and Marcos Suzano among the artists who inspired her development and helped shape her approach to rhythm.
In August 2005, Clarice moved to Illinois on a student visa to study English. The transition was far from easy. She arrived without speaking the language and, during her first months in the Chicago area, was not yet playing music – a major change after performing so frequently in São Paulo. Fortunately, her sisters were already fluent in English and helped her navigate those early challenges.
Gradually, Clarice made friends and began performing again, connecting with both Brazilian and American musicians. In 2007, her journey gained new direction when she received a scholarship to study percussion at Northern Illinois University. She ultimately spent eight years in the Chicago region, building the academic and professional foundation for her career in the United States.
California entered the story in 2013, when Clarice earned another scholarship – this time to pursue a master’s degree in world percussion at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). After graduating in 2015, she moved to Los Angeles and became part of Southern California’s diverse music community.
Her accomplishments since then reveal both her versatility and her commitment to sharing Brazilian culture. Among the experiences that marked her growth as an artist, Clarice highlights performing at Coachella, teaching pandeiro at California Brazil Camp, and participating in the first album by Lado B Brazilian Project, a recording that earned a Grammy nomination.
For Clarice, one of Los Angeles’ greatest strengths is its cultural diversity and the authenticity of the artists she meets and collaborates with. Her experience living between two cultures has also taught her to appreciate different qualities in each place: she admires the professionalism she encounters in the U.S while missing the relaxed and spontaneous nature of Brazilian life. That perspective informs the advice she offers to musicians and other Brazilians considering a move abroad: remain open to new experiences and seek to understand cultural differences without immediately judging them.
Through percussion performances and pandeiro instruction, Clarice Cast helps introduce Brazilian musical traditions to new generations of students and audiences in California. Photo: Jorge Vismara.
Clarice Cast’s journey – from São Paulo’s samba and choro scene to American universities and major California stages – shows that adaptation does not mean leaving one’s identity behind. Instead, it can become an opportunity to expand that identity, share it with new audiences, and allow Brazilian rhythm to find a home wherever the music leads. Follow Clarice Cast on Instagram @claricecast.
FAQ — Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who is Clarice Cast?
Clarice Cast, whose full name is Clarice Nunes Castilho, is a Brazilian percussionist from São Paulo who built her career in the United States, performing, teaching, and collaborating with musicians in California.
2. When did Clarice Cast move to the United States?
She moved to Illinois in August 2005 on a student visa to study English before pursuing formal percussion studies and developing her professional music career.
3. Where did Clarice Cast study music in the United States?
She received a scholarship to study percussion at Northern Illinois University in 2007 and later earned a scholarship to pursue a master’s degree in world percussion at the California Institute of the Arts, graduating in 2015.
4. What are Clarice Cast’s major musical accomplishments?
Her career highlights include performing at Coachella, teaching pandeiro at California Brazil Camp, and participating in the first album by Lado B Brazilian Project, a recording that received a Grammy nomination.
5. How does Clarice Cast promote Brazilian culture in California?
Through live performances, percussion instruction, and collaborations with musicians from different backgrounds, she shares Brazilian rhythms and traditions with audiences in the United States while continuing to develop her own artistic identity.
