Album Notes

THE SPIRIT'S QUARTET: Songs of love, nature, music and faith

A warmly nostalgic collection of both beloved and uncommon songs reflects the universal human experience of love found and lost, the wonder of nature, the emotive power of music, and the hope of faith. In the follow up recording to her highly acclaimed CD An Angel's Christmas, Sara Botkin creates expansive choirs and harmonious duets using only her own voice. Said one reviewer, "There are no other voices [on this CD] but Sara's...think that is really no big deal? You would swear at times that there is a boy choir in the background."

The Spirit's Quartet includes beloved classics like "Edelweiss" from The Sound of Music, "Ombra mai fù" from Handel's opera Xerses, "Time to Say Goodbye," "Shenandoah," and Samuel Barber's exquisite eight-part choral arrangement of his most famous work, "Adagio for Strings." Baltimore Symphony harpist Anne-Marguerite Michaud and Pittsburgh Symphony flutist Jennifer Conner provide heavenly accompaniment, and Sara's warm, pure lyric voice delights from the first note causing the listener to drift in nostalgic musing.

About Sara
As a choral singer in New York City, Sara 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, Alice 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.

A survivor of the September 11 attacks, she relocated to her hometown of Pittsburgh and joined the financial planning firm of Hefren-Tillotson, where she was Associate Vice President and Certified Financial Planner from 2001 - 2007. In 2007, Citigroup Smith Barney named her Vice President of Wealth Management. Says Sara, "Being in New York was exciting; singing in places I'd only read about or seen on television was thrilling. But September 11 made me yearn, like never before, to be close to my family. I am surprised that the decision to leave New York was not more difficult - after all, in a way, it meant abandoning my plan of pursuing a musical career in the epicenter of the performing arts. But since coming home, I have found a new, peaceful life with my family and in my career in finance, which has, ironically, enabled me to realize my long-time dream of becoming a recording artist."

At home in Pittsburgh, the young artist is the soprano soloist at Calvary Episcopal Church, has performed solo with Chatham Baroque and is a frequent guest soloist of the Bach and Baroque Ensemble of the University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette classical music critic Andrew Druckenbrod wrote of Ms. Botkin's recent performance with the Bach and Baroque Ensemble, "Of the vocal soloists...one of the youngest shone the brightest: soprano Sara Botkin."

In 2003 Sara released her debut recording, An Angel's Christmas, to high acclaim. Pittsburgh Magazine named the disc a Top 5 DJ pick in 2004, while www.christmasreviews.com called it "ethereal, expansive, full-bodied ether...classical with a new age feel and a vibrant impetuousness that bespeaks a desire to break the bonds of 'pure' classical music."

Sara graduated with highest honors from Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in music with highest distinction from the University of Virginia.

Accompanying Ms. Botkin on The Spirit's Quartet is Baltimore Symphony Acting Principal Harpist Anne-Marguerite Michaud. The Juilliard graduate was a member of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra from 1988-2003 and for six years prior was principal harp of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1998 she released her first solo CD A Touch of Elegance that was hailed by harp scholars as one of the finest harp recordings ever made. In 2002 Ms. Michaud released her second CD entitled The Children's Hour: Harpworks for the Imagination. Ms. Michaud's exquisite harp playing can also be heard on An Angel's Christmas, Sara's first CD release.

Gracing The Spirit's Quartet with fluid animation is Pittsburgh Symphony flutist Jennifer Conner. Prior to joining the PSO, the Juilliard graduate performed for five seasons as Principal Flute with the Charleston Symphony in South Carolina.