DACAMERA presents Sky Islands with Amir ElSaffar

Susie Ibarra: Sky Islands (Houston premiere)Amir ElSaffar: New work (Houston premiere)Talking Gong (Claire Chase, flutes; Susie Ibarra, percussion; Alex Peh, piano); Amir ElSaffar, trumpetCrossing genres of jazz, improvisation and Filipino and Middle-Eastern traditions, the unique all-star Talking Gong trio brings two new works to Houston: Susie Ibarra’s 2025 Pulitzer Prize-winning Sky Islands and a new collaborative creation with guest artist trumpeter-composer Amir ElSaffar, commissioned by MacArthur-winning flutist Claire Chase. Both works premiere in Houston at the spectacular new Ismaili Center. In Sky Islands, Susie Ibarra creates a sound world inspired by the fragile ecosystems of the Philippine rainforest, weaving themes of biodiversity, climate change and natural beauty into music of vivid texture and luminous color, using her stunning collection of percussion instruments. Amir ElSaffar – acclaimed for fusing jazz and Western classical traditions with the maqam music of Iraq and the Middle East – joins the trio of new music luminaries. Through ostinato, groove, repetition, and composed and improvised structures, the musicians invite the listener to join them in a state of Tarab, or musical ecstasy.