Fil-Am composer wins Pulitzer Prize for Music
Bridging ancestral tradition with environmental urgency, Filipino-American composer and percussionist Susie Ibarra has recently claimed the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her visionary work, “Sky Islands.”
Her winning work, “Sky Islands,” is a piece that reimagines the boundaries of contemporary music while celebrating the biodiversity of the Philippines.
The California-born artist is the child of Filipino physicians who migrated to the United States in the 1970s.
“Sky Islands,” premiered July 18 last year at the Asia Society in New York, draws from the ecosystems found in the highland rainforests of Luzon.
Sonic landscapes
In a recent Ojai Talk with Ara Guzelimian, Ibarra emphasized the importance of biodiversity in these rare and vital landscapes, which deeply informed her creative process.
“Sky Islands,” she shared, was born from an urgency to give voice to the ecological and cultural stories embedded in these endangered terrains.
The Pulitzer jury praised the work for “[challenging] the notion of the compositional voice by interweaving the profound musicianship and improvisational skills of a soloist as a creative tool,” highlighting its bold and collaborative spirit.
At the heart of “Sky Islands” is Ibarra’s commitment to using sound as a medium for ecological storytelling. Drawing from native instruments like bamboo percussion, flutes and the kulintang—a traditional gong ensemble from southern Philippines—she created a layered sonic tapestry that invites reflection on both nature and heritage.
Kulintang’s NY debut
The performance took place on “Floating Gardens,” a set of sculptural gongs that served as both visual centerpiece and resonant sound chamber, elevating the immersive experience.
The ensemble featured Ibarra alongside fellow percussionist Levy Lorenzo, flutist Claire Chase and the Bergamot Quartet: violinists Ledah Finck and Sarah Thomas, violinist Amy Huimei Tan and cellist Irène Han.
Speaking about the piece, Ibarra expressed her hope to bring attention to the “rich and fragile ecosystems” that inspired her.
Through “Sky Islands,” she invites listeners into a space where ancestral memory, environmental urgency and musical experimentation converge.
In 2024, Fil-Am journalist Nicole Dungca was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for the her work on “Searching for Maura” with The Washington Post.
