The Louis Botto Award for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is given to a mid-career conductor in recognition of their contributions to furthering the mission of their ensemble or organization.
This award was established in memory of Louis Botto for his artistry, selfless service to the choral art, and entrepreneurial spirit in founding the men's vocal ensemble Chanticleer, the first professional choral ensemble in the U.S. outside of the military that consistently offers full-time employment to its singers.
Previously, only conductors of professional or professional-core choruses were eligible to receive this award; the award will now rotate through a three-year cycle to recognize mid-career conductors of professional, adult volunteer, and children/youth choruses, reflecting the full breadth of Chorus America’s membership.
For the 2025 awards cycle, this award will be open to conductors of children/youth ensembles.
Description
This award is given to a mid-career conductor who has been involved with an ensemble or organization for approximately 5-10 years, demonstrating innovation and entrepreneurship by:
- Continuously advancing the artistic mission of the ensemble and taking risks to create a meaningful artistic product
- Furthering an equitable and sustainable business model for the ensemble (e.g. fair pay for staff, singers, partners, creative audience outreach approaches, etc)
- Modeling a resilient, resourceful, and solutions-oriented approach
- (For professional or professional-core years only) Demonstrating a commitment to the fair payment of professional choral ensemble singers
The winner receives an engraved plaque.
Eligibility
The nominee must be a member of Chorus America. Individuals may self-nominate for this award.
Award recognition will alternate between a conductor of a professional ensemble, volunteer adult ensemble, and children/youth chorus on a three-year cycle:
- 2025: Children/Youth Ensemble Conductor
- 2026: Professional Ensemble Conductor
- 2027: Volunteer Adult Ensemble Conductor
For the purposes of this award, a mid-career conductor is defined as someone who has earned experience and expertise but still has many years left in their career to gain more experience, advance their qualifications, pursue leadership roles, etc.
The Louis Botto Award can be received only once by any individual. It is not an annual award and will be given at the discretion of the selection panel.
Deadline & How to Apply
The deadline to submit an application or nomination is Friday, January 24, 2025 at 11:59PM ET.
The nomination application will include:
- An overview of the nominee's qualifications for the award, outlining how their innovation and entrepreneurship have furthered the ensemble or organization and its mission.
- A summary of the accomplishments of the ensemble or organization under the nominee's leadership
- The nominee’s CV or resume
- One letter of recommendation in support of the nominee is required.*
*The request for these letters is sent as part of the application. Recommenders who receive the request then upload the letters directly into the system, or it can be uploaded by the applicant on behalf of the recommender.
While there are no word limits for narrative questions, we find that concise responses that address the and award rubric criteria in 2-4 paragraphs tend to be most successful.
Click Here to view the rubric for the Louis Botto Award for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Questions? Contact Vale Southard at vale@chorusamerica.org.
2025 Awards - Louis Botto Award for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
The Louis Botto Award for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is given to a mid-career conductor in recognition of their contributions to furthering the mission of their ensemble or organization.
This award was established in memory of Louis Botto for his artistry, selfless service to the choral art, and entrepreneurial spirit in founding the men's vocal ensemble Chanticleer, the first professional choral ensemble in the U.S. outside of the military that consistently offers full-time employment to its singers.
Previously, only conductors of professional or professional-core choruses were eligible to receive this award; the award will now rotate through a three-year cycle to recognize mid-career conductors of professional, adult volunteer, and children/youth choruses, reflecting the full breadth of Chorus America’s membership.
For the 2025 awards cycle, this award will be open to conductors of children/youth ensembles.
Description
This award is given to a mid-career conductor who has been involved with an ensemble or organization for approximately 5-10 years, demonstrating innovation and entrepreneurship by:
- Continuously advancing the artistic mission of the ensemble and taking risks to create a meaningful artistic product
- Furthering an equitable and sustainable business model for the ensemble (e.g. fair pay for staff, singers, partners, creative audience outreach approaches, etc)
- Modeling a resilient, resourceful, and solutions-oriented approach
- (For professional or professional-core years only) Demonstrating a commitment to the fair payment of professional choral ensemble singers
The winner receives an engraved plaque.
Eligibility
The nominee must be a member of Chorus America. Individuals may self-nominate for this award.
Award recognition will alternate between a conductor of a professional ensemble, volunteer adult ensemble, and children/youth chorus on a three-year cycle:
- 2025: Children/Youth Ensemble Conductor
- 2026: Professional Ensemble Conductor
- 2027: Volunteer Adult Ensemble Conductor
For the purposes of this award, a mid-career conductor is defined as someone who has earned experience and expertise but still has many years left in their career to gain more experience, advance their qualifications, pursue leadership roles, etc.
The Louis Botto Award can be received only once by any individual. It is not an annual award and will be given at the discretion of the selection panel.
Deadline & How to Apply
The deadline to submit an application or nomination is Friday, January 24, 2025 at 11:59PM ET.
The nomination application will include:
- An overview of the nominee's qualifications for the award, outlining how their innovation and entrepreneurship have furthered the ensemble or organization and its mission.
- A summary of the accomplishments of the ensemble or organization under the nominee's leadership
- The nominee’s CV or resume
- One letter of recommendation in support of the nominee is required.*
*The request for these letters is sent as part of the application. Recommenders who receive the request then upload the letters directly into the system, or it can be uploaded by the applicant on behalf of the recommender.
While there are no word limits for narrative questions, we find that concise responses that address the and award rubric criteria in 2-4 paragraphs tend to be most successful.
Click Here to view the rubric for the Louis Botto Award for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Questions? Contact Vale Southard at vale@chorusamerica.org.