June 8th, 2026 — Over the past six weeks, a natural collaboration emerged between two composers in residence: percussionist and improviser Nava Dunkelman, based in Brooklyn, and percussionist, sound artist, and educator Susie Ibarra, based in Berlin. Shortly after arriving at the Castle, Susie began recording Civitella birdsong. Later, Nava joined her in the field to capture the sounds of the Tiber with a hydrophone.
The pair went on to present together mid-residency in an evening that included a preview of a piece that will be premiered by the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2027. Joining in the performance were two other Fellows: composer Herold Osmond !Owoseb and Arinze Ifeakandu, a writer who also trained as a singer.
Civitella sat down with Nava and Susie to learn more about their connection.
Civitella Ranieri Foundation: Did you know each other before Civitella?
Susie Ibarra: I knew of Nava before Civitella and had met her sister a few years back, but had not ever met her. I was delighted to know she was a 2026 CRF Fellow and in this first residency cohort.
Nava Dunkelman: No, we didn’t know each other personally before Civitella. We had known of each other for a long time and were connected only through social media. We also have many mutual friends, and whenever I told them that we had never met, they were always surprised. They would tell me that Susie and I would definitely get along as friends and collaborators, which ended up being true. I had always wanted to meet her, so I was very happy that we finally got the chance to meet at Civitella!
CRF: How has the synergy between the two of you shaped or inspired your artistic practice during your time at Civitella?
SI: It was very natural to get to know Nava. She had such a warm and friendly demeanor towards me, and I felt instantly the same in return. I was happy to connect and be in conversation.
I think it’s very special to be going through a new experience, creatively and with a new community and environment and have the opportunity and ability to make a new and genuine friend.
Sharing a parallel moment in residence and spending time at Civitella and on excursions I think opened up important and casual space to think about and be in dialogue about life and creative practices even if we are at Civitella to work on and explore different music or art.
ND: Susie and I connected right away. Since we already shared something in common as percussionists, it felt natural for us to connect, but I also felt that we had a similar energy, which made it very easy. Because of the unique environment at the residency, where we saw each other every day for a month, which is not something we usually get to do even with close friends back home, we got to know each other so well that at some point it felt like family.
At the same time, as I got to know Susie’s work more deeply through our conversations and presentations, I realized that her work is actually quite different from mine. She composes for larger orchestras and ensembles, which is very different from what I do, as I mainly compose for my own projects. Needless to say, I already had enormous respect for her work, but getting to know it more closely during our time together made me appreciate it even more. Her work is incredibly beautiful. I also really admired how ambitious she is in exploring sounds in caves, under the sea, and beyond. It was incredibly inspiring to watch footage of her work and see her creating sounds with rocks!
We both love listening to even the smallest sounds and are very sensitive to sound, so being able to share that and spend so much time together was really special. I think that mutual curiosity and attentiveness to sound made our time together both personally meaningful and artistically inspiring.
CRF: At Civitella you are living in a small community in the countryside. Coming from bustling cities, how’s your experience been? What differences have you noticed in how you’re interacting with your peers, practice, and environment?
SI: The staff at Civitella has been so amazing, welcoming, and nurturing to us. I’m very grateful for how they have taken care of us each day, cooking us meals, while we have so much space and time for our studio practice. I’ve never been in residence at a castle. To be connected to this history and its transformation into an artist residency feels very unique.
I have lived both in the countryside and in cities, in New York, and currently Berlin for the last 3~ years.
I loved staying in Pizza, the cottage next to the Castle and composing. I was so pleasantly surprised that some of the birds in the trees and yard and next to my windows and doors are also some of the city birds in Berlin, as well as local endemic birds. The European Blackbird and Blackcap and Robin still serenade me, but the Hoopoe bird from Umbria has literally knocked on my door and window gently and stood next to it to look at me. The European Serins have sung with some of the music I am writing.
Nava has been up the road at the Castrabecco, the farmhouse, and in Studio 6. We would connect on the beautiful treelined path and walk to the Castle.
I have walked and run the trail that starts at Pizza and winds through the farmlands in the mountains of Umbertide and makes its way in a circle back past the farmhouse almost everyday because it’s so incredibly beautiful. I’ve seen deer, rabbits, large birds, horses, and many different flowers and pollinators appear and change in spring.
ND: Since I was born and raised in Tokyo and later lived in the Bay Area and now New York, I’ve spent most of my life in cities. The only time I really lived in the countryside was when I spent two years in Arcata, California, during college.
Coming from New York, Umbria felt very different. Being surrounded by nature and hearing so many natural sounds every day was something I hadn’t experienced much before, especially for such an extended period of time, and I absolutely loved it. Having a residency in a castle is already a unique experience, but my time at Civitella felt truly extraordinary. One of my favorite parts of each day was walking along the path to the castle, surrounded by trees and the sounds of countless birds. I loved hearing all the different sounds around me and feeling connected to the environment in a way that is harder to experience in a city.
My time at Civitella also made me realize how much living in New York shapes the way I work. As much as I love New York and the energy of city life, where there is always something happening and so many inspiring things going on, it can sometimes be difficult to find space for deep focus. At Civitella, I felt like I could fully dedicate myself to my work without constantly thinking about everything else happening in daily life. Having a dedicated workspace, beautiful meals every day, and such a supportive staff who genuinely cared about us and our work felt like a real gift.
The community was also a huge part of what made the experience so special. Our group got along so well, and spending time together, whether during meals, conversations, or just hanging out, brought so much joy and laughter. Everyone was incredibly inspiring, and I feel very lucky to have met such amazing artists. I was also able to begin some collaborations that will continue beyond the residency, and I’m excited to see where those relationships lead. The friendships and artistic connections I made at Civitella are something I’ll always treasure.
CRF: Any Civitella anecdotes, particularly memorable moments, or a conversation between the two of you that you’d like to share?
SI: I loved very much being outside with Nava on excursions with the Fellows and staff, experiencing Medieval cities and Renaissance art, and of course gelato and shopping; walking in the countryside together, into the town and to the Tiber River.
ND: There are so many good memories since we spent so much time together, but one of my favorite moments was going on little adventures together outside the castle. We would bike into town, do a little shopping, or simply spend time walking around and enjoying nature. Susie had a hydrophone, so we also went to record sounds in the Tiber River together, and that was so much fun. I really enjoyed exploring and listening to sounds with her.
Honestly, I think my experience at Civitella would have been very different without her, and I’m truly grateful for the time we spent together.
CRF: What do you hope to take away from the residency into your regular practice? How do you plan to cultivate your relationship beyond the Castle?
SI: I’m incredibly grateful to Civitella Ranieri for my experience as a Fellow. What is really amazing to me is the nurturing support to give us the abundant space and time to be in-studio where I was able to compose a lot of music, and also the time and space to be in community with the other Fellows, which for me, isn’t something I’ve experienced before.
I was able to create different kinds of momentum in how I work in the studio without so much anxiety that I can sometimes have in balancing and creating work. I hope to carry this support and momentum back into my life and studio practice.
Being able to have conversations about many things including music gives unpressured but also valuable feedback. I am grateful that Nava and two other fellows, Arinze Ifeakandu—and Writing Fellow who happens to be trained as a baritone singer!—and Writing Fellow Osmond !Owoseb, performed a sketch of a new song for my opera, The Water Dreams of Animals, and an arrangement of one of my pieces, Bird Souls: Score for Flying during my presentation. It was generous for them to take the time and care, and great to be able to try things together.
Musically, I’m also very excited for the two of us to have met, as Nava is a beautiful percussionist, and I have several new works coming up for 2027 which I am inviting Nava to join me and my site specific CHAN percussion ensemble on, and as well, as a percussion soloist in a new string quartet concerto with string orchestra and percussion.
I’m really grateful to have a new friend and look forward to continued conversations and sharing new experiences together.
ND: Earlier I mentioned that it can be difficult to find deep focus for my creative work in New York, so one thing I hope to carry forward is that sense of dedication and momentum. During my time at Civitella, I began developing a new solo project for percussion and electronics. While I had used electronics with voice in my solo practice before, using electronics with percussion was something completely new to me. Since I only started exploring electronics about two years ago, I was very happy to give the project a strong start and to have the opportunity to present it at Civitella. I was a bit nervous to share the work since it was so new to me, but receiving positive feedback and hearing thoughts from the other fellows gave me confidence in the work and encouraged me to keep pushing it forward.
I will continue developing the sounds and exploring new approaches that excite me. I was also very happy to collaborate with Susie and perform some of her pieces during her presentation.
As Susie mentioned, I will be involved in some of her new projects in 2027, and I’m very excited to continue our connection as both a friend and collaborator. I’m grateful that Civitella brought us together, and I look forward to continuing the friendship, conversations, and collaborations that began there.