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The American soprano, Sara Botkin, graduated with Highest Honors from Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan and obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville (1996-1999). She received an Executive Certificate in Financial Planning from Duquesne University.
As a choral singer in New York, Sara Botkin performed with some of the nation's finest ensembles in the city's most famous venues including Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall, St. John the Divine, Avery Fisher Hall, Alive Tully Hall, and the State Theater at Lincoln Center. She was an original member of the 10-voice a cappella group The Douglas Frank Chorale which in 2001 won the CARA award for Best Classical Album - The A Cappella Singer. While in New York, she spent her nights singing and her days working for an AON Corporation on the 105th floor of Two World Trade Center.
A survivor September 11 attacks, Sara Botkin relocated to her hometown of Pittsburgh where she is a Certified Financial Planner. She was Associate Vice President at Hefren-Tillotson (November 2001-January 2007), Vice President at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney (January 2007-March 2015), and since March 2015 she is President at Botkin Family Wealth Management in Peters Township, Pennsylvania. Since her return from New York City to Pittsburgh in 2001, she has been delighting audiences with her sparkling soprano voice. She has appeared as a soloist with Chatham Baroque, the University of Pittsburgh's Bach and Baroque Ensemble, the Pittsburgh Festival Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Baroque Ensemble. She spent six years as soprano soloist at Calvary Episcopal Church in East Liberty and now sings with the choir of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Upper St. Clair, Pennsylvania.
Sara Botkin has released three solo recordings featuring Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra musicians and has donated her CD's to raise funds for various organizations including WQED-fm 89.3, the North Hills FOod Bank, WashArts and Westminster Presbyterian Church. She also offers free CD's to any soldier currently serving in the US military in honor of her brother Lester, a former US Marine who served in Iraq. Her three solo CD's have been critically acclaimed, including "An Angel's Christmas", named a "Top 5 DJ Pick" by Pittsburgh Magazine in 2004 and "Breath of Heaven" featuring Gretchen Van Hoesen, principal harpist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
Currently (2015), Sara Botkin and her husband Ovi live in Canonsburg with their 5 year old son Henry Luke and 2 year old son Alex. |
