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MANILA, Philippines — Susie Ibarra, a Filipino-American composer and percussionist, has achieved another milestone for the Philippine music industry as she won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Music with her composition “Sky Islands.”
Drawing inspiration from the high-altitude rainforest ecosystems in Luzon, the composition emerged from a deep urgency to amplify the ecological and cultural narratives of endangered landscapes in the country, Ibarra said in a recent Ojai Talk with Ara Guzelimian.
The Pulitzer board commended the piece for “challenging the notion of the compositional voice by interweaving the profound musicianship and improvisational skills of a soloist as a creative tool.”
Featuring an eight-piece ensemble, including Ibarra herself, flutist Claire Chase, pianist Alex Peh, percussionist Levy Lorenzo and the Bergamot Quartet, the performance utilized traditional Philippine instruments such as the gangsa (gong), kolitong (bamboo zither) and tongatong (bamboo percussion), alongside newly created gong metal sound sculptures.
The Fil-Am’s piece beat out “Jim is Still Crowing” by Jalalu-Kalvert Nelson and George Lewis’ “The Comet.” Along with the recognition, Ibarra received a cash prize of $15,000 (around P832,000).
Raised in Houston by Filipino parents, she has been trained in both Western classical music and Philippine kulintang traditions. Her interdisciplinary approach often incorporates elements of jazz, opera, electronic music and theater.
Beyond her musical endeavors, Ibarra is an advocate for environmental conservation and cultural preservation, having co-founded Song of the Bird King, an organization dedicated to preserving Indigenous music and ecology.
In addition to winning the Pulitzer, Ibarra was also selected this year as a Creative Capital awardee for her “CHAN: Sonnets and Devotions in the Wilderness” – a series of six kundimans, or traditional Filipino love songs, that pay tribute to natural landscapes such as the Pasig River.
Commissioned by the Asia Society in New York, “Sky Islands” premiered on July 18, 2024 as part of the COAL + ICE exhibition, which tackles climate change and environmental issues.
Next month, it will continue to reach audiences and make its West Coast premiere at the Ojai Music Festival in California on June 8.
