For most university students, simply making their way to class and completing the required courses to graduate is enough. Some will complete internships in their field of work, and a select few will even have job offers lined up before they ever have that diploma in hand.
However, for students like Vassili Makavos, a dual major in vocal performance and music composition, there come opportunities much grander than ever imagined. Makavos had been presented with the opportunity to compose a requiem, commemorating the life and death of a man's son.
For Makavos, the musical journey began at a young age. “I always was into music,” he explained. “From as early an age as I can remember, I can remember being stimulated by or interested in it or always being pulled by music.
“My mom had a lot of CDs … I remember she'd be upstairs vacuuming the house and Prince would be playing, and then all of a sudden she'd put in another CD and it would be Robert Cray or B.B. King. Then she'd put in another CD, yet again, and it would be Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2 … and then of course my dad would come home and put on his Greek marching band tapes … so there are definitely some fun memories there.”
Even from the age of 5, when most children were fantasizing about being an astronaut or a world famous rock star, Makavos had decided that he wanted to become an opera singer, a goal he has never strayed from.
The Makavos family has been nothing but supportive for their budding young musician. Living in the small town of Cheshire, Mass., his parents realized that their son would not be able to receive the education and technical training he needed. So, after researching and continuously coming across the name Rita Scholz, the Makavos family moved out to Gilbert, where Makavos attended Highland High School.
Makavos has a condition called synesthesia, a neurological condition where the stimulation of one sensory pathway leads to an involuntary stimulation in a second sensory pathway. In other words, it is a mixing of the senses. In Makavos' case, he has the ability to see different colors when he hears different sounds.
During his freshman year of high school, Makavos was in his orchestra class when his director mentioned a “60 Minutes” special about a woman who saw colors as she hit different notes on the piano. It was at that moment that he began to investigate more in depth about the different forms of synesthesia. Having read multiple books by Dr. Richard Cytowic, a leading neurologist on the subject, Makavos came to find out that he has nearly every symptom of synesthesia.
“It's very interesting, because it's like being on a natural acid trip, 24/7, and music only enhances that,” Makavos says.
A few years ago, Makavos wrote a bassoon concerto for a friend, based on some watercolor paintings she had painted. “I was so in love with them that when I looked at them, I instantly heard the music … she says I wrote [the music], but in a way, I kind of feel like she did… She made the paintings, and I was just hearing the music off the paintings. It's just a different perspective of music.”
Last year, Glenn Hackbarth, professor of music composition, received an email from a man looking for a student composer to write a requiem on behalf of his son who had passed away in 2009. Dr. Hackbarth sent out an email to his composition students, asking if someone wanted to take this commission.
Unsurprisingly, Makavos jumped at the chance to compose his first commissioned piece, but it was more than just an opportunity to gain experience. It was a way to truly connect with a man who wanted to celebrate the life of his son.
“This requiem wasn't just to be for the life and death of his son, but kind of a way for him to make amends with his other children.,” Makavos says. “He said he's never thought that he was going to have to bury one of his own kids … so he kind of feels like he wants to bring all his children back together and the family back together and solidify them through the power of music.”
The premiere performance of Vassilios Miltiades Makavos' Requiem will be held at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral on Monday, March 21. The program will feature voices from the ASU Choral Program as the life and death of Edward Lewis Von Hohn II will be remembered through song. Admission is free.
Reach the reporter at tpaxton@asu.edu
