Hinsdale Central Senior Brings Message of Healing Through Music to European Parliament

While most high school seniors are focused on college applications and weekend plans, Hinsdale Central’s Sophia Ibrahim spent part of her fall traveling to Brussels, where she addressed lawmakers at the European Parliament about how music can help rebuild war-torn societies.

Ibrahim, 17, was invited to speak at the “Rebuilding Ukrainian Society” roundtable on Sept. 30, an event hosted by the European Conservatives and Reformists Group. She shared how music can serve as a form of therapy and reconciliation in post-conflict regions — an idea she has championed through her nonprofit organization, Harmony Healers.

“True reconstruction must heal the human spirit,” Ibrahim told members of Parliament during her presentation. “In Bosnia, music succeeded where politics faltered. For Ukraine, we must fund community arts centers, train music therapists, and support cultural exchanges that bring people together again.”

Ibrahim founded Harmony Healers in 2022 after volunteering in Chicago-area hospitals, where she saw how live music comforted patients and families. What began as small piano performances has grown into an international youth-led initiative promoting music as a tool for healing and connection.

The organization now operates in three countries and partners with young musicians to organize community events and advocate for the role of the arts in recovery. Ibrahim has performed at NATO’s Sarajevo Security Conference, spoken at the MedGlobal Annual Conference, and published an essay on music and recovery in Mace Magazine.

In September, Ibrahim traveled to Srebrenica, Bosnia, to study how local groups such as the House of Good Tones use choirs and orchestras to bridge ethnic divides left by war. The trip inspired her message to European policymakers about the power of music to heal trauma and foster unity.

A resident of Oak Brook, Ibrahim is a National Honor Society member and AP Scholar with Distinction at Hinsdale Central. She has earned multiple academic and service awards, including the IHSA Scholastic Achievement Award and the Seal of Biliteracy in Spanish. In addition to her nonprofit work, she volunteers with MedGlobal and participates in international fundraising campaigns.