FOR the first time in history, a Filipina—Susie Ibarra—has won the Pulitzer Prize for Music.

The 54-year old composer and percussionist earned the prestigious award for her groundbreaking work Sky Islands. 

Commissioned by the Asia Society and premiered on July 18, 2024, Sky Islands centers Filipino biodiversity and culture through its use of traditional instruments like northern-style bamboo flutes, kulintang gongs indigenous to the Sulu and Mindanao regions, and other native sounds.

The piece was created and brought to life by an eight-member ensemble, featuring Susie Ibarra and Levy Lorenzo on percussion, Claire Chase on flute, and the Bergamot Quartet—violinists Ledah Finck and Sarah Thomas, violist Amy Huimei Tan, and cellist Irène Han.

The Pulitzer described Sky Islands as a “musical call to action, drawing awareness to dwindling biodiversity, changing climate and global community practices.” 

It was supported by grants from the Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard University, NYSCA, and the NYFA Anonymous Was A Woman Environmental Artists Grants.

Sky Islands beat out other notable finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for Music, including Jim is Still Crowing (about social justice in the United States of America) by Jalalu Kalvert Nelson and The Comet (exploration of racial injustice) by George Lewis. 

For this, Ibarra received a $15,000 prize alongside Pulitzer honor. 

Since 1942, only a handful of Filipinos have won the Pulitzer Prize. 

The first was Carlos P. Romulo, who received the Pulitzer Prize for Correspondence in 1942 for his reporting during World War II. 

In 2018, Filipino journalist Manuel Mogato won the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting for his coverage of President Duterte’s war on drugs. 

In 2024, three Filipinas were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize: photographer Hannah Reyes Morales for Feature Photography, and visual artist Ren Galeno together with investigative journalist Nicole Dungca for Illustrated Reporting and Commentary.