Susie Ibarra is a composer, percussionist, and educator who creates live and immersive music that explores rhythm, Indigenous practices, and interaction with the natural world. She is co-founder of digital music company Song of the Bird King, with an emphasis on cultural preservation of Indigenous music and its ecology. Ibarra is a Yamaha, Paiste and Vic Firth Drum Artist.
Her recent work includes Circadian Rhythms, commissioned for Earth Day 2013 at RPI EMPAC inspired by endogenous rhythms for 80 percussionists and 8.1 surround sound of Macaulay Library recordings; The City a Radio Radiance commission for Young Peoples Chorus of NYC; We Float, a 2014 commission by Ecstatic Music Festival with singer songwriter Mirah, a sonic retelling of space explorations; and The Cotabato Sessions , a digital music film and album in collaboration with filmmaker Joel Quizon and National Heritage artist Danongan Kalanduyan that captures one family legacy of gong-chime music in Mindanao, Philippines ; Digital Sanctuaries, in collaboration with Cuban American composer/percussionist Roberto Rodriguez , interaction designer Shankari Murali and computer scientist Rommel Feria, , a modular music app walk that remaps cities with sanctuaries of music most recently installed in NYC and Pittsburgh. Digital Sanctuaries was commissioned by Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, New Music USA, National Endowment for the Arts, Artplace America and The City of Asylum, Pittsburgh. Susie Ibarra is a 2014 TEDSenior Fellow and a Faculty member at Bennington College. She teaches Percussion, Performance and at the Center for Advancement in Public Action with focused advocacy on Human Rights extended equally to women and girls and Rebuilding Cities with the Arts.

Susie Ibarra is a percussionist and composer living in New York City. She received a music diploma from Mannes College of Music and a bachelor's degree from Goddard College. Ibarra studied Kulintang with Danongan Kalanduyan and drumset with Buster Smith, Vernel Fournier, and Milford Graves.



As a percussionist, Susie Ibarra has performed Southeast Asian gong music, jazz, avant-garde, and solo concert works. She has performed with many great artists such as John Zorn, Dave Douglas, Pauline Oliveros, Derek Bailey, Ikue Mori, Sylvie Courvoisier, William Parker, Dr. L Subramaniam, Kavita Krishnamurti, John Lindberg, Wadada Leo Smith, Mark Dresser, Thurston Moore, Savath and Savalas, Prefuse 73, and Yo La Tengo.



Susie Ibarra has presented clinics and master classes throughout the United States. As an artist in residence, she has worked at such venues as The Walker Art Center, Mills College, Bard College, Swarthmore College, Fundacio Joan Miro, University of Michigan, Juilliard, The Manhattan School of Music, and The New School.



In addition to performing with her own trio, Susie Ibarra performs regularly with other groups and artists including Mephista, Shapechanger, Mark Dresser & Susie Ibarra Duo, Mundo Niños, and Electric Kulintang.