The New Improvisers Studio with Susie Ibarra
Western Front and Coastal Jazz are pleased to present The New Improvisers Studio, a free educational opportunity for emerging musicians aged 17 to 24.
The New Improvisers Studio fosters collaborative exploration in musical improvisation through the guidance of a world-renowned artist visiting the Vancouver International Jazz Festival. This year’s mentor is Susie Ibarra, an acclaimed composer, percussionist, and sound artist, who will lead participants in a creative journey focused on listening, field recording, spatial mapping, playing, practicing, and musical notations inspired by rhythms in the natural world.
Workshops will take place daily from June 24 — 28, 2025, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., at Western Front and throughout the surrounding neighbourhood. The week will conclude with a public performance on June 28 at 1:00 p.m.
Please note, participants are responsible for bringing their own instrument and managing transportation to and from the workshops. All participants will be provided with lunch daily and a free festival pass for the Vancouver International Jazz Festival.
How to Participate
The New Improvisers Studio is open to young musicians aged 17 to 24 from all music backgrounds and levels of experience. To participate, please submit an expression of interest to info@westernfront.ca with the subject line “The New Improvisers Studio EOI” no later than May 30, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time.
Expressions of interest can be submitted in writing, video, or audio recording of no more than 500 words or 3 minutes length, and should address the following questions:
What is your chosen instrument?
Describe your musical background and experience.
Why are you interested in exploring improvisation?
What is your ambition as a musician and how will this opportunity help you to achieve this?
The New Improvisers Studio can accomodate ten participants. Successful applicants will be notified by June 4, 2025.
About the Artist
Susie Ibarra is a Filipinx-American composer, percussionist, and sound artist. Her work encompasses performance, mobile sound-mapping applications, multichannel audio installations, recording, and production. Across her interdisciplinary practice, many of Ibarra’s projects are based in cultural and environmental preservation. Her sound research focuses on the stewardship of glaciers and freshwaters, and she has published writing on the ecology of rhythm in the environment.
Acknowledgements
Presented in partnership by Coastal Jazz and Western Front, with the support of the Government of Canada, Creative BC, Deux Mille Foundation, and the SOCAN Foundation
Western Front is a non-profit artist-run centre in Vancouver.
We acknowledge the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations as traditional owners of the land upon which Western Front stands.