Susan Botti

Susan Botti

Composer/performer Susan Botti's eclectic background and experiences are reflected in her music. Theater and the visual arts play a formative role in the aesthetic of her work. Her musical explorations incorporate traditional, improvisational and non-classical composition and singing styles.

Botti is the recipient of numerous grants, awards, and commissions. In many cases, she is the vocal soloist as well as composer of her works. Collaboration is of special interest – often, her projects evolve from artistic partnerships (including musicians from the NY Philharmonic and The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra; soloists such as singer Lucy Shelton; the poet Linda Gregerson; and theater designer, Leslie Taylor).

Duo della Luna is Botti’s recently formed vocal/violin duo with Airi Yoshioka, specializing in the performance of intimate contemporary music and folk song-inspired arrangements and compositions. Their debut recording, Mangetsu, was released in 2021 by New Focus Recordings. Advocating education and outreach, the duo is committed to performing in unusual and underserved venues.

A recently premiered work is her “theatrical motet”, River Spirits, for three voices and an ensemble of contemporary plus early music instruments – a futuristic abstract fable drawing on Italian “grammelot” and wide-ranging vocal techniques. Another recent work is Vespers (walking in beauty) for mixed chorus and wind ensemble.

In addition to performing her own vocal works, Botti specializes in the performance of contemporary music of diverse styles. She has worked directly with composers such as Sofia Gubaidulina, Matthias Pintscher, Paul Chihara, Toshio Hosokawa, Linda Dusman, Eliot Britton, Rahilia Hasanova, Lois V. Vierk, 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, the vocal solo in his multimedia work for soprano and orchestra, Orchestral Theatre III: Red Forecast, and the vocal solo for the theme to his soundtrack for The Banquet.

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Susan Botti is a member of the Composition Faculty at the Manhattan School of Music.