아시아소사이어티(Asia Society, 회장 강경화)가 7월 18일과 20일 오후 7시 30분 필리핀계 작곡가이자 타악기 연주자 수지 이바라(Susie Ibarra)의 '하늘 섬(Sky Island)'를 세계 초연한다. '하늘 섬'은 클레어 체이스(Claire Chase, 플루트), 알렉스 페(Alex Peh, 피아노), 레비 로렌조(Levy Lorenzo, 타악기),  수지 이바라의 Extended Filippino Talking Gong Ensemble을 포함한 8인조 음악 앙상블을 위해 작곡됐다. 이 콘서트엔 리다 핀크(Ledah Finck, 바이올린), 사라 토마스(Sarah Thomas, 바이올린), 에이미 휘메이 탄(Amy Huimei Tan, 비올라), 아이렌 한(Irène Han, 첼로)로 구성된 버가모트 쿼텟(Bergamot Quartet)이 협연할 예정이다. 

 

 

Asia Society New York Presents World Premiere of Sky Islands by Susie Ibarra 

Performances take place at Asia Society New York

Thu Jul 18 and Sat Jul 20 at 7:30 p.m.

 

Join us for the world premiere of Filipinx composer and percussionist Susie Ibarra's Sky Islands, a musical tribute to our rich and fragile ecosystems inspired by the distinct rainforest habitats of Luzon, Philippines. The piece is composed for Ibarra’s eight-piece music ensemble, including the Extended Filippino Talking Gong Ensemble with Claire Chase on flute, Alex Peh on piano, and Levy Lorenzo and Ibarra on percussion, joined by the four-member Bergamot Quartet comprising violinists Ledah Finck and Sarah Thomas, violist Amy Huimei Tan, and cellist Irène Han. 

 

The piece features the interlocking rhythms and melodies of Philippine Northern style bamboo, gong, and flute music, performed on new sound sculptures of gong metals titled Floating Gardens. 

 

Sky Islands is a musical call to action, drawing awareness to dwindling biodiversity, changing climate and global community practices. This program is part of the COAL + ICE exhibition and series of programs at Asia Society, Feb. 13-Aug. 11, 2024, designed to provoke thought and action on climate change.

 

 

“Sky islands” are distinct ecosystems at high altitude ranges, known for becoming hotspots for biodiversity and unusual forms of life. Geographically isolated with few or no outside predators, sky islands are home to many species of small mammals that don’t exist anywhere else in the world, making them wondrous areas where we can see evolution “sped up”.

 

Ibarra was intrigued by the “sky islands” on the mountain tops of rainforests in her home region of Luzon, Philippines, home to the world's largest number of unique mammal species. In this latest musical work commissioned by Asia Society, Ibarra captures, through sound and sculpture, the beautiful and somewhat magical existence of sky islands.

 

Sky Islands takes inspiration from the musical traditions of Luzon’s sky islands and features Philippine Northern style interlocking rhythms and melodies found in bamboo and gong and flute music of the Kalinga and Cordilleras Region in Luzon. Highlighting Luzon’s rainforests—an endangered region with 31 endemic species, including the Philippine Eagle, and a region that has both volcanic and non-volcanic mountains amidst diverse fauna—Sky Islands aims to connect audiences to these fragile and beautiful ecosystems.

 

Sky Islands is commissioned by Asia Society, with support from Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard University, NYSCA, and NYFA Anonymous Was A Woman Environmental Artists Grants. 

 

Tickets for the performances are $20 Asia Society Members, $30 Nonmembers. Students and seniors: use coupon code SENSTU at checkout. Tickets may be purchased at AsiaSociety.org/NY or by calling the Asia Society Box office at 212-517-ASIA (2742).

 

Susie Ibarra

Susie Ibarra is a Filipinx composer, percussionist, and sound artist. Her interdisciplinary practice includes composition, performance, mobile sound-mapping applications, multichannel audio installations, recording, and documentary. Among her many projects, she is the founder of Susie Ibarra Studio and, with artist-musician and engineer Jake Landau, the label and publisher Habitat Sounds. She works to support Indigenous and traditional music cultures, like musika katutubo from the Philippines, advocates for the stewardship of glaciers and freshwaters, and supports initiatives in addressing water and desert climate, and women and girls education with Joudour Sahara, Morocco. 

 

Ibarra leads several ensembles, including Talking Gong Trio with Claire Chase and Alex Peh. She has recorded over 40 albums and performed in events and venues such as Carnegie Hall; the Olympics; and the Sharjah Biennial. Her book Rhythm in Nature: An Ecology of Rhythm is forthcoming, and recent honors include a 2024 DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program fellowship, for which she is based in Berlin, and 2024 Charles Ives Fellowship with the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She is a Foundation for Contemporary Arts 2022 Music Fellow, United States Artists 2019 Music Fellow, TED Senior Fellow 2014, and NatGeo Explorers Storyteller 2020. Susie Ibarra is a Yamaha, Zildjian, and Vic Firth Drum Artist. 

 

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