David Ibbett, Ph.D. is a composer, educator and musical advocate for science. Based in Boston, he is a Professor at WPI, directs the Multiverse Concert Series and is Resident Composer at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. He is the first composer to drive a Mars Rover at NASA JPL.
Read about David’s work in Nature “The Sound of Stars”
David composes electrosymphonic music: a fusion of classical and electronic styles that interweaves influences from songs, symphonies, pop, rock and electronica. Musical strands are met with inspiration from the work of scientists: sonified data, musical metaphors for scientific concepts, and experimental sound and images from contemporary research.
In 2020, David was the first Guest Composer at Fermilab, the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, and on 2023, David was named the first Resident Composer at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. In all projects, David seeks a deep collaboration with musicians, scientists, artists and performers. He has worked with physicists (Dr. Mathew Kleban, NYU), biologists (Dr. Paul Garrity, Brandeis), engineers (Dr. Irmgard Bischofberger, MIT), sociologists (Dr. Clara Han, Johns Hopkins), astrophysicists (Dr. Priya Natarajan, Yale) and oceanographers (Dr. Sarah Davies, BU). Recent works include Cellular Dance (2019) a ballet on a theme of cell movement with biologist Alexey Veraksa of UMass Boston, Octave of Light (2020) an album of exoplanet music, Black Hole Symphony (2022) and Mars Symphony (2024) orchestral journeys through spacetime for planetariums and orchestral performances nationwide.
He has performed science symphonies at science museums nationwide, the National Academy of Sciences, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab.
David studied at Clare College Cambridge with Giles Swayne, the Guildhall School of Music & Drama with Julian Anderson, and completed his Ph.D. at the University of Birmingham (UK) with Jonty Harrison and Scott Wilson. His fascination with electronic music began in 2008 when he undertook a residency at the Aldeburgh Music Festival with Jonathan Harvey – an inspirational teacher and pioneer in the field. In 2014 he moved from London to Boston, USA, where he lives with his wife Sarah and three children. His lifelong passion for science began with his father, Dr. Roger Ibbett, who is a research chemist in Nottingham, UK. David mentors young composers at his home studio. His students have performed at Yamaha’s NJOC, the BBC Young Proms, and placed first in the MMTA composition competition in State and Regional levels.
David’s music has been performed with:
Music Festivals and Concert Series
Aldeburgh Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Barbican Total Immersion, Noisegate Festival, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, National Sawdust, Nonclassical, Banff Centre Encounters series, Wigmore Hall, BEAST concert series, Spitalfields Festival, Logos Foundation, NYCEMF Festival, SEAMUS, EMM Festival, BEAMS Marathon, International Horn Society Conference, Klangspuren Festival Austria, Music Under the Dome, Original Gravity Concert series, Music of Reality, Seven Bridges Project, City of London Festival, Bath Festival, Mapmaking at LSO St Luke's, Faster Than Sound concert series, Multiverse Concert Series.
New Music Ensembles
New England Philharmonic, Rome Symphony, Multiverse Orchestra, Transient Canvas, BBC Symphony Orchestra Octet, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Hermes Ensemble, Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, Living Room in London Ensemble, Transient Canvas, Boston Percussion Group, Aeolian Progression, Early Music Experiment, Riot Ensemble, Tre Voci cello ensemble, Birmingham University Contemporary Ensemble, Workers Union Ensemble, Guildhall Contemporary Orchestra