About this Artist

Pronouns: she/her

Christina Cook is a Maryland Wolf Trap Early Learning Through the Arts teaching artist who provides early learning residencies. Learn more about the Maryland Wolf Trap program.

Christina Cook is a Baltimore-born and -based artist and musician. As a special needs parent seeking rhythm and movement-based social activities for her child living with autism, she founded Rhythm Key in 2014. Beginning as a drum circle for special needs families, Rhythm Key focused on using percussion and movement to bridge communication and social barriers to celebrate differences in ability and neurodiversity.

Christina, known affectionately in her community as “Mama Chris,” has since been able to expand on knowledge of dance and African/Afro Caribbean percussion to continue to connect with youth and families both locally and nationwide. Her work has expanded from free weekly drum workshops for ALL AGES, ALL ALL ABILITIES, to pop-up style drum meditations for seniors and veterans, call and response drum jams for those with communication and learning challenges, and expression circles for youth in classrooms and in after school programs.

Since 2018, Mama Chris has been working and learning with Arts for Learning Maryland (formerly Young Audiences of Maryland) as a Teaching Artist with the Summer Arts for Learning Academy (SALA) co-creating math and literacy lessons taught through an artform with a teacher. Using percussion as the foundation for creating expression and empathy through music, movement, and imagination, her goal is to give each child the opportunity to express and share their most authentic self with the world in a learning environment that is safe, fun, and accepting of everyone.