BERLIN, 29 October 2026 – The Philippine Embassy in Berlin supported the European premiere of Sky Islands, the Pulitzer Prize-winning composition of Filipino-American composer, percussionist, and sound artist Susie Ibarra, at Berlin’s iconic Pierre Boulez Saal on 28 October 2026.

The performance drew a full house, including the Philippine Embassy’s invited guests from the Federal government, the diplomatic corps, and Berlin’s cultural institutions.

Joining Ibarra on stage were Filipino-American percussionist Levy Lorenzo, flutist Claire Chase, pianist Alex Peh, and the Exira Quartet. Their performance brought the nature and musical traditions of the northern Philippines to a Berlin audience through a contemporary work inspired by sounds of Luzon’s elevated rainforests and spectacular biodiversity.

Sky Islands takes its name from mountain habitats separated from one another by lower-lying terrain. Inspired by the rainforests of Luzon, the composition combines Philippine gong and bamboo instruments with other instrumental sounds. The piece premiered at Asia Society in New York in 2024 and earned Ibarra the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Music.

Ambassador Maria Teresa Torres Almojuela said that “the Philippine Embassy in Berlin celebrates with honor and pride Susie Ibarra’s achievements and contribution to contemporary music.  Her works create profound touchpoints for societies and cultures to connect in the common ground of music and – in that place – to ponder together on our relationship to nature and our responsibilities in climate action.”  

She noted that the European premier of Sky Islands in Berlin adds a new facet to the many milestones between the Philippines and Germany in the field of music.

On performing at the Pierre Boulez Saal, Ibarra said: “It has been a beautiful experience and an honor to present Sky Islands in Berlin at a most incredible acoustic hall and historic hall, Pierre Boulez Saal. All the performers including myself could feel the energy of attentive listeners in the hall. I was deeply honored to have the Ambassador Maria Teresa T. Almojuela of the Philippines and her colleagues Ambassadors of Indonesia, Malaysia, Honduras and Lebanon, with the Embassy and both diplomats and Philippine community attend as well as DAAD head director, director of music and sound, and literature attend alongside the Federal Foreign Office diplomats including the Foreign Office Director for Culture, Frau Cristina Beinhoff. ” 

Ibarra and her fellow artists will next perform Sky Islands at De Singel in Antwerp on 31 October 2026. 

The performance at Pierre Boulez Saal followed the launch on 26 October of Bureau de Passage, an artist residency initiative of the German Federal Foreign Office and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), which named Ibarra its inaugural artist-in-residence. 

During her residency, which runs until December 2026, Ibarra will collaborate with European artists on work focusing on the Arctic and its glacial ecosystems. The project continues her exploration of environmental change through music and recorded sound. In her collaboration with glaciologist Michele Koppes, Water Rhythms: Listening to Climate Change, recordings made in Greenland, the Himalayas and other locations became material for a sound-based work about water and climate.

 

When asked about her residency, Ibarra commented that it “connects artists with diplomats in dialogue around uncharted territories. In this season these conversations for the residency are focused on freshwater, oceans, and glaciers around the Arctic, and the fragile state of the environment and culture in a changing climate and increasing geopolitical frictions. I hope very much to find ways to communicate and share different perspectives as this can be valuable to everyone’s practice and to the conservation of the earth’s water sources.”

Top: Ibarra speaking at the inauguration on 26 October 2026 of the new studio for Bureau de Passage, an artist residency initiative of the German Federal Foreign Office and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD); Bottom: a view of the studio at the Federal Foreign Office compound.

Ibarra’s concert and Bureau de Passage residency highlight the contributions of artists of Filipino heritage to international cultural life. Ibarra’s work brings an environmental dimension to these exchanges, connecting her interest in Philippine mountain forests with her forthcoming artistic work on the Arctic. 

Ibarra (second from left) with Vice Consul Dana Michelle Del Rosario (leftmost), Amb. Maria Teresa Almojuela (second from right), and Consul Benjamin Celedio, Jr. (right) at the inauguration on 26 October 2026 of the new studio for Bureau de Passage.

The Embassy thanks Susie Ibarra and the artists, Pierre Boulez Saal, DAAD, the Federal Foreign Office, and all who attended the concert, and looks forward to a sustained and enriched cultural exchange between the Philippines and Germany. –END