Currently working as the Assistant Organist at St Mary’s Cathedral Sydney, Titus started at WollCon back in 2006, playing violin in the youth string orchestra under Dr Carlos Alvarado.
“In 2007, I started taking composition lessons with Nigel Edwards, and soon afterwards, I joined the Bluescope Steel Youth Orchestra, and took violin lessons with Scott Taggart until I completed high school and moved to Sydney.”
But it was learning to play Wollongong Town Hall’s organ that began his journey into the world of organs and pipe music.
“Playing the organ can seem very daunting at first – you are faced with an enormous mechanical instrument with endless potential, which you need to play with both hands and feet. However, learning it is much the same as the piano – you just need lots of slow practice, coordination, and a musical sense.”
The organ at the Town Hall was originally built by Ronald Sharp between 1966 and 1968, and soon afterwards he went on to build the Sydney Opera House Grand Organ.
“The organ is a great gem of Illawarra’s cultural heritage, and it will be a great joy to play it again in July as part of the BlueScope Youth Orchestra Alumni concert. It’s also undergone a renovation, so I am looking forward to playing it after a few years of it being out of action.”
“Sadly, the number of organ players has declined lately, with many churches abandoning their instruments. Despite this, Australia is blessed with a number of historical instruments, and many world-class organists.”
In Sydney, Titus continued his organ studies with Mr Philip Swanton, and completed a Bachelor of Music in Pipe Organ at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, with First Class Honours.
As well as working at St Mary’s Cathedral Sydney Titus and his wife Kim have created an organ music community on Youtube (Pep Organ), where listeners can enjoy organ music performances, hear interviews and discover other alternative music.
