Voice
Mr. Botta began to sing in children’s choirs or cantorías in Cuba when he was three years old. He studied choral singing in Santiago de Cuba’s Vocational School of the Arts until he was thirteen years old. He then continued his studies for the next four years at the Esteban Salas Conservatory of Music, where he studied Choral Conducting. During those years he was very active musically. He was choral master and organist in the Santa Lucia Catholic Church and attended numerous festivals in Havana, Cuba with the Orfeon Santiago Choir of Santiago de Cuba, under the direction of one Electo Silva. After graduation, he continued to work as a singer and a section leader at the Orfeon Choir of Santiago de Cuba. As a musician, he has performed as a vocalist, pianist, harpsichordist, organist, choral singer and conductor. He conducted a children’s choir named ‘’Mi Querido Pequeñin’’ and taught piano at Santiago de Cuba’s Vocational School of the Arts. Mr. Botta attended the University of Oriente, where he majored in Socio-Cultural Studies. At the same time, he double majored through the Superior Institute of the Arts (ISA) in Voice Performance, where he studied for three years. Mr. Botta graduated from their advanced program with honors. He received a Master’s degree in Early Music Performance and performed with several early music ensembles in the country including ‘Ars Longa.’ He sang in a male counter-tenor choir called ‘Sine Nomine’ as a sopranist, in Havana, Cuba. He performed for the Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to Santiago de Cuba. Mr. Botta worked alongside some of the most prestigious directors and musicians of Cuba like Electo Silva, Guido Lopez Gavilan, Enrique Perez Mesa, Digna Guerra and Frank Fernandez, among many others.
Mr. Botta moved to the USA in 2012 and began teaching voice to private students. He began singing with an early music ensemble called ‘In Illo Tempore’. During this time, he performed with Frank E. Cooper, Research Professor Emeritus of Musicology at the University of Miami. He started teaching voice and pre-choir at Conchita Espinosa Conservatory of the Arts in 2013. In 2014, Mr. Botta won a scholarship to study at Florida International University where he majored in Vocal Performance and Music Education, with a minor in organ. He is a section leader at Plymouth Congregational Church of Coconut Grove and an organist assistant. Mr. Botta belongs to the Early Music Ensemble ‘Collegium Musicum’ at Florida International University, and also sang at the ‘Collegium Musicum’ at University of Miami. Mr. Botta has been on the faculty of Conchita Espinosa Academy and Conchita Espinosa Conservatory of the Arts since 2015.
