Titus Veldhouse is a senior at Brookfield East High School. and has been a member of MYSO for seven years. He has been proud to play in the Senior Symphony and Chamber Orchestra for the past two years. He plays the violin and has studied with Joseph Siegworth.

He first began playing chamber music in sixth grade, when he participated in a string quartet through the MYSO Chamber Ensembles Program which he did until 10th grade. In his final year, he performed a Downey Project composition with his quartet, coming full circle by giving a piece back to the quartet program.

His first composition venture, A Hop, Skip, and a Leap was composed under the encouraging guidance of Professor Christian Ellenwood. Titus would like to thank all who aided him in his composition journey.

The piece is written with some variations from "normal" composition in order to give a jolly and playful feeling, like that of a fairy tale. A time signature of 6/8 gives a natural bounce to the melody that remains consistent, such as the practiced motion of sending oneself into the air and landing while balanced once again. The piece further deviates from standard conventions by using a Mixolydian mode, which in this case means that the fifth note of the G Major key, has the landing note as D.

The name also stems from some key elements in the music. Leading voices often start just before downbeats to give a sense of falling, jumping, “hopping,” or “skipping” right into the new phrase. The piece has a lighthearted beginning before “leaping” into a treacherous and more dissonant finale. These jumps normally resolve as if one has successfully landed the jump without falling.