Double Major Melds Cultures and Culture
Laura Titus ’07 had a choice – play the large, curving pianoforte Mozart might have used or the teetering box of a clavichord on which the genius certainly had made his ethereal music.
The scenario was this: the staff at Mozart’s Austrian birthplace had agreed to allow a member of the touring University of Mary Washington-Community Symphony Orchestra to play one of the priceless instruments. The musicians gave Titus the honor, hoping she would choose the round and graceful pianoforte.
But Titus – a pianist, violinist, and major in both music and international affairs –headed for the tiny clavichord and placed her hands where Mozart had set his. Despite the nearly inaudible tones and disappointed friends, Titus knew she had made the right choice: the instrument connected her to Mozart the child prodigy, Mozart the fallible man, and Mozart the voice of God.
“It was really amazing, because I guess we get this image in our heads of famous people being so removed from us,” said Titus, 22. “But to see that he was just a human and he played on a physical instrument just like we do – that is something I will never forget in my whole life.”
Titus’ drive to understand the human condition is what drew her to Mary Washington’s distinguished political science department. The New York state native landed in international affairs, where she hoped not only to learn about people, but how to help them.
Even so, Titus couldn’t give up the music she had played since kindergarten. At UMW, she auditioned for the orchestra on violin, took theory as a general education requirement, studied piano, and drew the attention of music professors. At their urging, she auditioned for the Aurelia B. Walford music scholarship – which she won – and started toward a second major.
She was amazed, she said, at how much performance experience UMW gives its musicians. One especially memorable opportunity was when she soloed at the Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., in Native Voices, a chamber series by Craig Naylor, assistant professor of music. That collaboration with American Indian composers resonated with Titus’ passion for cultures.
“Performing with those different groups – duets, ensembles, solo – was wonderful, and it also made me think of what art could convey about the lesser-known problems people face,” Titus said. That melding of cultures, combined with a UMW course on economics of philanthropy, raised a question for Titus: “What are some unconventional ways of handling these problems and making an impact in ways that are not celebrated in the media.”
By her senior year, Titus had nearly finished both majors, toiled hours each day in practice rooms, and returned time after time to the stage. As graduation neared, she gave her recital and presented her senior seminar. For that, she chose the life and music of Chinese-American Tan Dun.
During the Cultural Revolution, Tan Dun was sent to a rice plantation, where he learned the music of Chinese peasants and conducted a band of farmers. Eventually, the Beijing-trained composer came to the U.S., where he won a Grammy for the music of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Tan Dun and others who bring the stories of small communities to the world stage inspire and educate, Titus said.
“That whole sort of socio-economic picture gets transmitted through their music, and we start to learn not only about those people, but also about their needs,” Titus said. “I see myself playing a role in that world in the future, making people aware of what is going on elsewhere. I don’t know how that will be part of a career, but I do see myself being involved.”
– Neva S. Trenis