Artistic director Grant Gershon was awarded the Louis Botto Award.(photo by Steve Cohn)

Chorus America, the nation’s leading choral music advocacy organization, announced it is conferring two top awards on Los Angeles Master Chorale’s key leadership.

Artistic director Grant Gershon garners the prestigious Louis Botto Award for Innovative Action and Entrepreneurial Zeal, and outgoing president and CEO Terry Knowles, who steps down at the end of the 2014-15 season after 15 years, receives the Chorus America Distinguished Service Award for her lifetime service to choral art.

All 2015 award recipients were selected by independent panels, and these particular awards are given periodically and only at the panels’ discretion.

Gershon and Knowles will accept their honors at a luncheon at Chorus America’s 2015 Conference in Boston, Mass., June 17-20.

“We’re thrilled to recognize these leaders in excellence and innovation. Ultimately, their success benefits the entire choral field,” said Chorus America president and CEO Catherine Dehoney.

The Botto Award is given periodically to a choral leader who, through his or her work with a member ensemble of Chorus America, has demonstrated innovative action and entrepreneurial zeal in developing a professional or professional-core choral ensemble.

The Chorus America Distinguished Service Award spotlights Knowles for her long-term service to the choral field and her efforts to build a dynamic and inclusive choral community so that more people are transformed by the beauty and power of choral singing.

Giving a voice to Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Grammy-nominated Los Angeles Master Chorale is led by artistic director Grant Gershon.

The chorale is currently in its 51st season as a resident company of The Music Center of Los Angeles County and its 12th as the resident chorus at Disney Hall.