Susie Ibarra

Susie Ibarra is a Filipinx composer, percussionist and sound artist. Her interdisciplinary practice includes composition, performance, mobile sound-mapping applications, multi-channel audio installations, recording and documentary. Among her many projects, she is the founder of Susie Ibarra Studio and, with artist-musician and engineer Jake Landau, the label and publisher Habitat Sounds. Many of Ibarra’s projects focus on cultural and environmental preservation: she has worked to support Indigenous and traditional music cultures, such as musika katatubo from the North and South Philippine islands. Her sound research advocates for the stewardship of glaciers and freshwaters and she collaborates with The Joudour Sahara Music Program in Morocco on initiatives that preserve sound-based heritage with sustainable music practices and support the participation of women and girls in traditional music communities.

Ibarra leads several ensembles, including Talking Gong Trio with Claire Chase and Alex Peh. She has recorded over 40 albums and performed in events and venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Olympics and the Sharjah Biennial. Her book “Rhythm in Nature” is forthcoming, and recent honours include a 2024 DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program fellowship, for which she is based in Berlin, and 2024 Charles Ives Fellowship with the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She is a Foundation for Contemporary Arts 2022 Music Fellow, United States Artists 2019 Music Fellow, TED Senior Fellow 2014 and National Geographic Explorers Storyteller 2020.