Susie Ibarra

Composer/Percussionist/Producer

Susie Ibarra is an artist whose work is in both live performance as a composer, percussionist/drummer and in immersive music with mobile apps, surround sound and sound installations.

Ibarra is interested in the intersection of tradition and avant-garde and questions how this informs interdisciplinary art, education and public service.

Her music is profoundly influenced by the interconnection of nature and cities with their Indigenous and urban practices.

Ibarra, a Yamaha, Vic Firth and Paiste Drum Artist, has recorded over 40 recordings as a leader, collaborator and soloist.

She is a 2014 recipient of a TED Senior Fellowship, 2013 recipient of the MAPFund Creative Capital Grant, New Music USA Commission and 2013-2014 National Endowment for the Arts, for an Our Town residency to install Digital Sanctuaries, Pittsburgh with The City of Asylum, Pittsburgh.

2013 Ibarra composed, conducted and performed on Earth Day April 2013, Circadian Rhythms, music for 80 performers and an 8.1 surround field recordings from the Macaulay Library world premiered at RPI EMPAC, Troy NY. Nov 2013, along with Cuban Composer Roberto J. Rodriguez, Ibarra launched, Digital Sanctuaries NYC, a music mobile app walk that engages with 12 historic sites in Manhattan. Digital Sanctuaries is a digital public art project that remaps cities with sanctuaries of music.

Ibarra is co-founder of digital music company, Song of the Bird King, which will release in April 2014 The Cotabato Sessions, a digital music album and short film about the Kalanduyans, one family’s music legacy in Mindanao Philippines. A May 2014 release will include a trilogy of music by electronic/percussion duet, Electric Kulintang with Susie Ibarra & Roberto Rodriguez, including War Horses a sonic poem with Pulitzer Poet Yusef Komunyakaa, Drum Codes, a series of compositions in reverence to different codes of language, and Digital Sanctuaries, vol.1 NYC, the music album of 12 compositions for music mobile app walk for 12 historic sites in NYC.

Roberto Rodriguez

Composer/Percussionist/Producer

Currently:

Roberto is currently collaboration with composer John Zorn. Recording nine compositions commissioned by the composer for Masada-The Book of Angels. The music was recorded in 2013 and will be released in the U.S. in 2014 for the NY downtown music label Tzadik.

In 2013 Roberto composed, produced and recorded the music of Digital Sanctuaries,NYC in collaboration with Susie Ibarra with their group Electric Kulintang created in 2004. Digital Sanctuaries, NYC is a music mobile web app soundwalk that engages with 12 historic sites in Manhattan. Digital Sanctuaries is a project that remaps cities with sanctuaries of music. Electric Kulintang is commissioned to create and launch a Digital Sanctuaries, Pittsburgh in collaboration with The City of Asylum Pittsburgh for the North Side of Pittsburgh Garden to Garden walk in 2014 July.

2012:

In 2012 Roberto created Orquesta Sarabia. A spicy gumbo of Buena Vista Social Club doing the music of Nino Rota, the romantic Farid al-Atrash and adding beautiful Cuban, Andalusian and Arabic melodies. To this concoction Roberto added six original compositions plus arrangements of his peers Maurice El Medioni and John Zorn. Adding a very special arrangement of Dahmane El Harachi’s “Ya Rayah” (Oh Immigrant/The Traveler) for a debut performance of Orquesta Sarabia at the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center in NYC.

Music Biography:

Born in East Havana Cuba, and raised in Miami, percussionist and composer Roberto Rodriguez brings groundbreaking new music through his diverse cross-cultural roots. Drawing inspiration from Jazz to Afrocuban and Eastern European Klezmer Jewish music to the Andaluz of North Africa. To producing electronic works with Electric Kulintang. Roberto’s original musical approach shows how he can simply with ease navigate different styles and genres composing music that is seamlessly crafted redefining his own style he calls “all world music”.

Education:

Roberto Rodriguez was born in El Vedado Havana, Cuba. He studied violin and piano at Caturla Conservatory in Havana, trumpet from his father, trumpeter and arranger Roberto Luis Rodriguez. He began playing drums professionally at the age of 13 with his father’s ensembles as well as with legendary bassist/composer Israel “Cachao” Lopez. He received a full scholarship to the music program at Univ. of Miami where he learned to perform in many different types of jazz ensembles.

Cuban Jewish All Stars Band:

Israel: Gilad Harel-clarinet, Salit Lahav- accordion, flute Jonathan Keren – violin, Itay Abramovits-piano/Omri Mor-piano Assaf Hakimi-bass, Chen “Pepe” Meir-congas

US: Ivan Barenboim-clarinet, Bernie Minoso-bass, Meg Okura-violin, Uri Sharlin-accordion/piano, Igor Arias congas/vocals, Roberto Rodriguez percussion, composer, bandleader

Orquesta Sarabia:

Elefterios Bournias-clarinet, Megan Gould-violin, Amir Elsaffar-santoor/trumpet, Tarek Abboushi-bouzuk, Jennifer Vincent-bass, Dafer Tawil-darbuka/oud/vocal, Uri Sharlin-accordion, Igor Arias-congas, Hadar Noiberg-flute, Roberto Rodriguez-composer, percussion, bandleader

Awards and Grants:

Performances with Cuban Jewish All Stars:

Beit Avi Chai Jerusalem2011,2012,2013,

Great Synagogue Denmark 2012, Red Sea Jazz Festival 2011, Krakow Jewish Cultural Festival 2008,2009,2010, Lincoln Center David Rubinstein Atrium, The Jewish Museum, Concertgebouw Holland, Barbican Theater London, Malta Jazz Festival, Sines Musicas do Mundo Portugal, Museum of Jewish Heritage NYC, Skirball Center LA, Istanbul Jazz, Slovenia Jazz Festival,

Features and Reviews

Roberto Juan Rodriguez is a bona fide innovator, that rare musician whose creative vision, breathes joy and melancholy with tremendous emotional clarity. Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

“Bravo! Completely enchanting, delightful-different for my ears. It pulled me in” Ray Barretto (from Jazz Times “Before and After interview” November 2004

Village Voice Top 10 cd’s of 2011 for Timba Talmud, Village Voice Honorable Mention 2011 for The First Basket, Down Beat Best 100 cd’s 2000-2010 for El Danzon de Moises, EK Best10 cd’s WIRE-UK 2007, The World NPR, All Songs Considered NPR, Modern Drummer, Downbeat Magazine, All About Jazz NY, Washington Post, Jazziz, Vibrations , Signal to Noise, All Music Guide, Boston Globe, Le Monde, The Guardian UK, Jerusalem Report, The Jewish Forward, Time Out NY, Ethnomusicology Vol 51-No 1-Winter 2007,

Performed:

Maurce El Medioni, Rufus Wainwright, Joe Jackson, John Zorn, Marc Ribot, Celia Cruz,I srael “CACHAO” Lopez, Paquito D’Rivera, Julio Iglesias, Miami Sound Machine, Paul Simon, TBone Burnett Lloyd Cole, Ruben Blades, Larry Coryell, Dr. L Subramaniam, Kavita Krishnamurti, Randy Brecker, Dave Liebman, Kim Karnes, Phoebe Snow, Dianne Shur, Lester Bowie, Wadada Leo Smith, Irving Fields

Projects:

Selected Discography: