“Thanks to impermanence, everything is possible” – Thich Nhat Hanh
Composer/percussionist Susie Ibarra is joined by Tashi Dorji, Phyllis Chen, and area percussion groups in the premiere of the multi-ensemble version of Four Meditations on Impermanence, a meditation on forests conceived and developed in PS21’s landscape.
Inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh’s quote, Ibarra presents four pieces focused on the sonic world of four elements – metal, skin, wood, and water. Drawn by the cultural diversity of languages in nature, she creates a percussive piece grounded in these natural elements—one that is impermanent, yet also able to adapt and grow.
The concert highlights a full day of community-wide, multidisciplinary engagement with PS21’s varied natural topography. Part of Ibarra’s Rhythm in Nature residency, the day includes a participatory performance along the Stony Kill, a musical procession through the forest, sound mapping, and visual and movement projects, all free and open to all.
WITH GUEST SOLOISTS
Tashi Dorji guitar
Phyllis Chen pianist, sound artist
The Rhythm In Nature Residency for 22 artists presented by Pilipinx composer, percussionist and sound artist Susie Ibarra. The Residency featured field recording workshops each morning listening on the river and with the forest birds on the PS21 campus led by Ibarra and multi-instrumentalist, field recordist , and sound engineer Jake Landau. Ibarra taught drum and gong workshops each day focused on learning, interpreting, and playing rhythms of bird songs and the rhythmic equations of waves in water.
Susie Ibarra is a Filipinx composer, percussionist, and sound artist. Her interdisciplinary practice spans formats, including performance, mobile sound-mapping applications, multi-channel audio installations, recording, and documentary. Many of Ibarra’s projects are based in cultural and environmental preservation: she has worked to support Indigenous and traditional music cultures, such 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.
She is a recipient of the Foundation For Contemporary Arts Award in Music/ Sound (2022), a National Geographic Storytelling Fellowship (2020); United States Artists Fellowship in Music (2019); the Asian Cultural Council Fellowship (2018); and a TED Senior Fellowship (2014).
Susie Ibarra, Jake Landau, and the Rhythm In Nature Residency will hold a Community Listening Lab at PS21 on Saturday, July 15, from 9:30 AM-12 PM, followed by a community discussion.
Participants will walk along the Stony Kill and through the fields and forested areas of PS21’s grounds, transitioning through a spectrum of natural acoustic ecosystems, including water, woodlands, and meadows, exploring a range of sites for bird song, and returning to PS21’s open-air pavilion theater. In the theater, where bird song continues to be filtered through the natural amplification of the space, Rhythm In Nature Residency attendees will talk to the community about field recording and listening, and will lead a Q&A.
