Susan Botti

Title: River Spirits 
Commission: 2020
Completed: 2023
Instrumentation: 3 sopranos, bass recorder, tenor recorder, sackbut, zampogna, irish flute, bass clarinet, electric viola da gamba, acoustic viola da gamba, contrabass, percussion (tom, vibraphone, cymbals, shakers, bells/wind chimes, woodblocks, coco rattles, daf balophon)

As a composer and performer, Susan Botti's eclectic background and experiences are reflected in her “striking, emotional music” (Opera Magazine). Theater and the visual arts play a formative role in the aesthetic of her work. Her musical explorations embrace traditional, improvisational and non-classical styles. Botti’s numerous grants and awards include the Goddard Lieberson Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Rome Prize; grants from the NEA, the Aaron Copland Fund, NY Foundation for the Arts, The Greenwall Foundation, ASCAP, and the Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts; commissions from The Cleveland Orchestra, The New York Philharmonic and The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Collaboration is a vital source of inspiration—often, her projects evolve from creative partnerships with other artists, such as: soprano, Lucy Shelton; violinist, Airi Yoshioka; poet, Linda Gregerson; and theater designer, Leslie Taylor.