Susan Botti, composer/soprano (New York, NY) is the recipient of numerous grants, awards, and commissions, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Rome Prize, the Goddard Lieberson Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, grants from the NEA, Copland Fund, and the Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts. She was the third Daniel R. Lewis Young Composer Fellow with the Cleveland Orchestra. Additional orchestral commissions include works for the New York Philharmonic, and The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Collaboration is of special interest – often, her projects evolve from artistic partnerships (with soloists such as soprano Lucy Shelton; the poet Linda Gregerson; and theater designer, Leslie Taylor).

Duo della Luna is Botti’s vocal/violin duo with Airi Yoshioka, specializing in the performance of intimate contemporary music and folk song-inspired arrangements and compositions. Advocating education and outreach, the duo is committed to performing in unusual and underserved venues. Susan’s discography include recordings of her chamber music: Gates of Silence (Albany Records - with the Blakemore Trio); and listen, it’s snowing (New World). A forthcoming CD on Naxos (Heavy Weather) will feature her concerto for saxophone and wind ensemble, sull’ala, with soloist Carrie Koffman and the Hartt Wind Ensemble/Adsit.

In addition to performing her own vocal works, Botti specializes in the performance of contemporary music by composers of diverse styles including Sofia Gubaidulina, Paul Chihara, Rahilia Hasanova, Matthias Pintscher, Toshio Hosokawa, and Wes York. For over a decade, composer/conductor Tan Dun created several major works highlighting her vocal and theatrical talents, including the role of “Water”  in his internationally renowned opera, Marco Polo, and the vocal solo in his multimedia work for soprano and orchestra, Orchestral Theatre III: Red Forecast.

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Botti’s early training included studies in music, art, and theater. She received her Bachelor of Music from the Berklee School of Music; and her Masters in Music Composition from the Manhattan School of Music. She is currently a member of the Composition faculty at the Manhattan School of Music in NYC, an Adjunct Associate Professor at Vassar College, and a Visiting Artist at Bard College.