Susan Botti (1962 - Present)

Introduction
As  a composer and performer, Susan Botti's eclectic background and experiences are reflected in her music. Theatre and the visual arts play a formative role in the aesthetic of her work. Her musical explorations have encompassed traditional, improvisational and non-classical composition and singing styles. Botti is the recipient of numerous grants and awards, including the Goddard Lieberson Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Rome Prize; and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Aaron Copland Fund, NY Foundation for the Arts, The Greenwall Foundation, The Jerome Foundation, ASCAP, and the Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts. She was the third Daniel R. Lewis Young Composer Fellow with the Cleveland Orchestra, premiering her works Impetuosity (conducted by Roberto Abbado), and Translucence (conducted by Music Director, Franz Welser-Möst).

http://www.susanbotti.com - Photo

Work Analysis
A recording of Botti's vocal chamber music, listen, it's snowing, (New World/CRI) features her operatic soliloquy, Telaio: Desdemona (for soprano, string quartet, harp, piano & percussion). Called "striking emotional music..." (Opera Magazine), this work was commissioned by The American Artists Series of Detroit, and has been performed in numerous venues including New York City, Taipei, Santa Fe, Atlanta, and Washington D.C.

In addition to performing her own vocal works, Botti specializes in the performance of contemporary music by composers of diverse styles, including: Gubaidulina, Crumb, Kurtág, Cage, Chihara, Pintscher, Matheson, and Partch, among others. She was featured as a composer and singer on the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Green Umbrella series in a concert honoring Steven Stucky's 20th anniversary as the LA Phil's Composer in Residence. Composer/conductor Tan Dun created several major works highlighting her vocal and theatrical talents, including his Orchestral Theatre III: Red Forecast for soprano and orchestra, which she premiered with the BBC Scottish Symphony and performed at Carnegie Hall with the American Composers Orchestra. Tan Dun also wrote the role of "Water" for her in his internationally renowned opera, Marco Polo (Sony Classical), which she premiered at the Münchener Biennale, and subsequently performed in Europe and Asia, and at the New York City Opera. She can also be heard as vocal soloist in Tan Dun's soundtrack for The Banquet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86F4n5J0fAs

Observations
This was a piece I enjoyed  the joyce of the soprano and violin, it made for a beautiful duet.