Gabriela Lena Frank’s Picaflor: A Future Myth, Co-Commissioned and Premiered by The Philadelphia Orchestra, Wins 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Music

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Philadelphia, May 5, 2026)—Gabriela Lena Frank’s Picaflor: A Future Myth won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Music yesterday. The Philadelphia Orchestra and Music and Artistic Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin co-commissioned Picaflor and gave the world premiere of the piece in March 2025 with Principal Guest Conductor Marin Alsop.

Picaflor: A Future Myth was the culmination of Frank’s tenure as The Philadelphia Orchestra’s composer-in-residence from 2019 to 2023. While in this position, she worked closely with students throughout the region, specifically at KIPP West Philadelphia Preparatory Charter School, helping to provide music education to Philadelphia’s next generation of artists and arts lovers. The Orchestra has also commissioned and given the world premieres of Frank’s Concertino Cusqueño (2012) and Pachamama Meets an Ode (2022), both with Music and Artistic Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

The Pulitzer Prize–winning work is a retelling of a traditional Peruvian creation myth about a picaflor, or hummingbird, that pollinates the world and its varying wildlife, giving birth to a vibrant and complex earth. Frank’s retelling takes place in a futuristic setting, where the picaflor navigates a world on the brink of cataclysm—reflecting Frank’s climate activism in art and life.

“The Philadelphia Orchestra extends our heartfelt congratulations to Gabriela Lena Frank on this monumental achievement,” said Ryan Fleur, president and CEO of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts. “Frank’s Picaflor is a profound act of storytelling, weaving her Peruvian heritage into an urgent message about the wellbeing of our planet. We are thrilled to have co-commissioned this work and presented its world premiere last year. Collaborating with composers like Gabriela reflects our organization’s deepest values—where artistic excellence meets cultural inclusivity and genuine authenticity; we build the kind of musical legacy that endures time and space. We look forward to continuing to champion her music and introducing this extraordinary piece to audiences for years to come.”

The Orchestra has commissioned two additional Pulitzer Prize–winning compositions in its history: Walter Piston’s Symphony No. 7 (1961) and Shulamit Ran’s Symphony (1991).