Four years later, he made his first orchestral appearance with the Honolulu Symphony under Ernest Chang's guidance.
He then moved on to Stanford University, where he studied under Adolph Baller and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
He also earned an Artist Diploma from the South Bend Indiana University, and then began teaching at the Alexander Toradze's Piano Studio.
[3] Botkin is co-founder with Dmitri Vorobiev of the Midwest International Piano Competition held at the University of Northern Iowa's Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa, where the two founders are UNI piano professors.
[8] Botkin received one of his first awards at age 16 when he was named runner up in the 1986 Joseph Fisch Piano Competition.