Joaquín Clerch (born 1965 in Havana, Cuba) is a classical guitarist and composer. He was a close friend and protégé of Cuban guitarist and composer Leo Brouwer.
Clerch is a leading guitar pedagogue as Professor of Guitar at Robert Schumann University Düsseldorf. His students have won international awards and honors in major competitions, including the prestigious Francisco Tarrega International Guitar Competition, in which his students obtained the first prize four years in a row (2004-2007). Many of his students are renowned guitar players and teachers at conservatories and music schools all over the world.
Clerch is not only well-known as a guitar player, but also as a composer. Clerch's composition “Yemaya” won first prize in both the 1987 National Cuban Composition Competition and the 1987 Toronto International Guitar Competition.