Latest news with #SusieIbarra
New York Times
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
The Most Open-Eared Festival in America Is Ojai
A crowd had gathered at the Ojai Meadows Preserve early Saturday morning. The nearby mountains were still shrouded in mist, and the cool, gray quiet was interrupted only by the sound of birds. Then a throaty quivering of flute emerged from behind the audience — and a stab of clarinet from another spot, a distant burr of saxophone, pips from a second flute. An almost avian quartet gradually coalesced from specks of song and chatter among the instruments, in conversation with the animals in the trees. This was Susie Ibarra's 'Sunbird.' That a couple of hundred people showed up at 8 a.m. for an experimental performance in the middle of a field speaks volumes about the Ojai Music Festival. Since the 1940s, this annual event, nestled in an idyllic valley in Southern California, has catered to audiences eager to be challenged. Each year, a different music director is invited to guide the programming. For this installment, which took place Thursday through Sunday, morning to night, the festival looked to the flutist Claire Chase, one of the most important nodes of creation and collaboration in contemporary music. Chase, a founder of the International Contemporary Ensemble and the instigator of 'Density 2036,' an ongoing 24-year commissioning project to create a new repertoire for her instrument, has an aesthetic well matched to Ojai. Her approach is rigorous yet relaxed, with an improvisatory, cooperative, nature-loving, even hippie bent — meditative, sunny and smiling, encouraging open minds and open ears. Two dozen musicians performed in shifting combinations throughout the weekend, so you had the feeling of being dropped in the middle of a joyfully bustling commune. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The Star
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Filipino American composer Susie Ibarra wins 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Music
MANILA: Bridging ancestral tradition with environmental urgency, Filipino American composer and percussionist Susie Ibarra (pic) has recently claimed the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her visionary work, 'Sky Islands.' 'Sky Islands' is a piece that reimagines the boundaries of contemporary music while celebrating the biodiversity of the Philippines. Premiered on July 18 last year, at the Asia Society in New York, 'Sky Islands' draws from the ecosystems found in the highland rainforests of Luzon. In a recent Ojai Talk with Ara Guzelimian, Ibarra emphasised 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. 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 Irene 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 finalist for her work on 'Searching for Maura' with The Washington Post. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
