Hillary O’Sullivan is a Singaporean classical pianist and climate youth ambassador who believes that music can carry an emotional argument where cold data falls short.
The mission
While climate change is frequently debated through abstract numbers, most people struggle to connect with statistics alone. Hillary takes her piano directly to the environments under threat, performs on location, and allows the audience to truly feel the stakes.
Working alongside established field scientists and local conservation organisations, her performances break away from the traditional concert hall. Beginning her training at age three, Hillary realised by twelve that transporting a piano into challenging, remote terrains speaks far louder than a conventional speech.
Expedition highlights
- High Arctic, July 2025
- Performed on moving pack ice at 82° North to draw attention to vanishing sea ice.
- Bhutan, October 2023
- Invited to the Royal Highland Festival in Laya, four thousand metres above sea level, to perform for His Majesty the King. She made history as the first foreigner and the youngest artist ever invited to perform since the festival’s inception in 2016.
- Antarctica, February 2023
- Served as the youngest climate ambassador on the Antarctic Climate Expedition, performing at Neko Harbour.
Films
- In pre-production
Hands Like Ours
Documenting the journey into North Sumatra’s Leuser Ecosystem, the last shared habitat of Sumatra’s megafauna. Filming in 2027.
- 2024
The Girl and Her Piano
A short documentary capturing her journey to the high-altitude glaciers of Bhutan. Broadcast on PBS, screened at international festivals across four countries, and adopted as educational material in Colorado schools.
Musical background
Classically trained from the age of three, Hillary holds an ABRSM Grade 8 certification and is currently preparing for her ARSM Performance Diploma. She has performed at the Chopin Festival in Poland, the International Festival of Music in Granada, and the Esplanade in Singapore, including a performance for the President of Singapore.
She is a prize-winner at the Singapore Raffles Music Competition, received the Brilliant Award at the Brilliant Talent Discovery Awards for her interpretation of Debussy, and in September 2026 received Platinum and First Prize at the Quatre Music International Festival.
Her signature performance piece, Rhapsody for a Changing Antarctic, was specifically composed for her expedition by Belgian composer Eric Bettens to capture the sound of an ecosystem coming apart. She has since carried this powerful composition to the Himalayan heights and across the Arctic sea ice.
Selected press
The Straits Times·12 October 2024
13-year-old Singaporean plays the piano for King of Bhutan
The Straits Times Life section on Hillary’s journey to Laya in Bhutan, the piano performance at 4,000 metres, and the documentary The Girl and Her Piano, made to raise climate awareness.
CNA Lifestyle·October 2024
Singaporean teen who performed for Bhutan’s king feels ‘a deep responsibility’
CNA Lifestyle spoke to Hillary and her mother Elaine Lim about how the invitation came about, and about their work on climate change.
South China Morning Post, Young Post·23 February 2025
How 14-year-old Singaporean pianist plays her part in fighting climate change
“As long as you start with what you care about, everything else will follow.” Published with a printable worksheet for classrooms. By Doris Wai.