Born in Ohio to a pair of hard-working music enthusiasts, Kristen Gleeson Prata grew up listening to Al Green, the Rat Pack and 70s funk. She fell in love with the drums after seeing Billy Cobham in concert when she was nine and hasn’t stopped playing since.



After attending DePaul University’s School of Music and Berklee College of Music, Kristen Gleeson Prata earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Performance and moved to Los Angeles. She has had the pleasure of studying under drumset masters John "JR" Robinson, Aaron Sterling, Kenny Aronoff, John Blackwell, Terri Lyne Carrington, Kim Plainfield, Jamey Haddad, Bill Ransom, Steve Wilkes, Dave DiCenso, and more.



Kristen Gleeson Prata has studied Japanese taiko drumming under master Eitetsu Hayashi, Brazilian percussion under Marcus Santos, with whom she performed at the 2008 PASIC convention, and West African drumming under Joe Galeota, with whom she performed at the opening ceremony of the 2008 PASIC convention and traveled to Ghana to study Ewe drumming and dancing under Emmanuel Agbeli in the Ewe region of southwestern Ghana.



Kristen Gleeson Prata has recently toured with roots-rock singer Julie Neumark and soul-pop songstress Hope Waits and is currently busy collaborating with numerous different projects, songwriters, and producers on both drumset and percussion.



Kristen Gleeson Prata also currently teaches and works at online music marketing company Topspin Media. She is known for her impeccable time, feel-good pocket, powerful yet tasteful touch, stylistic versatility, and bright personality.