Sean Botkin

Pianist Sean Botkin began studying the piano at age five with his mother, making his first orchestral appearance four years later with the Honolulu Symphony, where he studied with Ernest Chang. A resident of Seattle, Mr. Botkin went on to study with Neal O’Doan at the University of Washington and, under his direction, performed with the Seattle and Spokane Symphonies, and the Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as numerous solo recitals. Reactions to Mr. Botkin’s performances typically are expressed with phrases such as “multidimensional talent,” “superb musicianship,” and “beautiful and rare musical experience.”

Mr. Botkin has had great success in prestigious international piano competitions, and has won many awards, including: William Kapell International Piano Competition, Cleveland International Piano Competition, World Piano Competition in Cincinnati, Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, Busoni International Piano Competition, Dong-A International Music Competition of Korea, International Music Competition of Japan and Washington International Competition.

During the summers of 1987 and 1988, Mr. Botkin attended the Aspen Music Festival, where he studied wtih Aube Tzerko and John Perry. From 1989-1995, he attended the Bowdoin Summer Music Festival, studying with Martin Canin. During the summer of 1996, he studied wtih Craig Sheppard at the University of Washington. Mr. Botkin received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University, where he was a student of Adolph Baller. While at Stanford, he performed with the Stanford Symphony, the Youth Symphonies of Palo Alto and California, as well as the Palo Alto Philharmonic Orchestra and Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, with which he made a compact disc recording of the Bach D minor Concerto.
Mr. Botkin received his Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School, studying with Martin Canin, and also spent an additional two years there in the Professional Studies program. While at Juilliard, he received the Gina Bachauer Scholarship and also performed the Bartok Second Piano Concerto with the Juilliard Symphony at Alice Tully Hall, conducted by Carl St. Clair.

Mr. Botkin received his Artist Diploma from Indiana University at South Bend where he was part of the adjunct faculty and a member of the Alexander Toradze Piano Studio. He has also traveled extensively across Europe and America, performing with Maestro Toradze and the Studio, most notably at the prestigious Salzburg Festival (Austria), Ruhr Klavier Festival (Germany), Ravenna Festival (Italy), Wigmore Hall (England), Stresa Festival (Italy), and the Gilmore Festival (Kalamazoo, MI), where he also performed for the National Public Radio program “Performance Today.” In February 2004, Mr. Botkin gave masterclasses in Saint Petersburg, Russia and performed Mozart’s D minor Piano Concerto with the Klassika Orchestra.

Mr. Botkin is currently Assistant Professor of Piano at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI). In March 2005, he performed the Rachmaninoff 3rd Piano Concerto in Costa Rica with the University of Northern Iowa Symphony. Most recently, he returned from Bogota, Columbia where he performed Burleske in D minor by Richard Strauss.