Filipino composer Susie Ibarra awarded Pulitzer Prize for Music
Filipino composer and percussionist Susie Ibarra has been awarded the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for her musical work Sky Islands, which is a tribute to the Philippines' diverse and delicate rainforest ecosystems, specifically inspired by those of Luzon.
Sky Islands, which premiered on July 18, 2024, at the Asia Society in New York, has beaten out notable works such as The Comet by George Lewis and Jim is Still Crowning by Jalalu-Kalvert Nelson.
The Pulitzer Board lauded her piece for “challenging the notion of the compositional voice by interweaving the profound musicianship and improvisational skills of a soloist as a creative tool.”
Sky Islands is scored for Ibarra's eight-piece ensemble, featuring her Extended Filipino Talking Gong Ensemble with Claire Chase (flute), Alex Peh (piano), and Levy Lorenzo (percussion), alongside the Bergamot Quartet.
The piece integrates the "interlocking rhythms and melodies of Philippine Northern style bamboo, gong, and flute music," realized in "new sound sculptures of gong metals titled Floating Gardens."
This prestigious honor comes with a $15,000 (P830,500) prize for Ibarra.
On her Instagram, Ibarra expressed her gratitude for the love and support, saying she was "overwhelmed by your kindness and joy and would like you to know it’s a mutual feeling and I’m grateful."
"It has been an extraordinary year focused in composition and sound research during my fellowship in music and sound with the DAAD Artist in Berlin Program. To complete my 2024-2025 fellowship with a world premiere of my oratorio, Kundiman love songs, for our wildernesses and a Pulitzer Prize for high altitude sky islands music is beyond a gift," she said.
Ibarra announced that she will be releasing the special scores that she wrote, premiered, and recorded on their label Habitat Sounds 3. The release will also include Sky Islands and a book of scores.
She also announced that she will be blogging again on Sound Health Habitat Journal, "writing weekly about music, concepts, field research, teaching, studio and performance."
Ibarra's first album of the Trilogy is available for pre-order, with a release date set for Sept. 12.
Ibarra is a Filipino composer, percussionist, and sound artist whose diverse work spans composition, performance, technology, and advocacy for environmental and cultural causes.
She has received numerous prestigious fellowships and awards for her work, including the 2024 DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program fellowship and the 2024 Charles Ives Fellowship with the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She is also one of SPIN's 100 Greatest Drummers of Alternative Music.
Ibarra also established Susie Ibarra Studio and co-founded the label and publisher Habitat Sounds with Jake Landau.
