Analyst Makes Sound Choice to Work at NIH
For years, Keith Tittermary worked full time conducting and directing musicals in community theaters. He loved this work, but it wasn’t quite paying the bills.
A trained pianist, Tittermary holds a degree in musical theater from the Catholic University of America. After college, he played in pit orchestras for touring shows coming through town such as Ragtime and Rent. He also was directing and conducting musicals at American University and Howard Community College. But even while supplementing that income by giving private piano and vocal lessons, he was living paycheck to paycheck.
“I made a barely survivable living,” he recounted.
Tittermary “Dreamed a Dream” of a better “Tomorrow,” believing there’s a “Sunny Side to Every Situation.” A pivotal moment in his career came in 2010.
That year, Tittermary was considering moving to California. He’d been accepted to San Diego State’s graduate program for musical theater. But he also had applied for a job at NIH in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. When NIH selected him, he took the job. Even though the position was entry level, he recalled it still paid considerably more than his musical gigs combined. He was grateful to find that stability.
And yet, he couldn’t bring himself to entirely give up on his musical passion. Tittermary still played in shows on the side. He just couldn’t commit to full runs anymore since he could no longer do matinees. He would take gigs playing in the pit for a dinner theater or in evening productions of shows such as playing piano in Olney Theater’s Fiddler on the Roof.
It turned out, a skill he’d developed years earlier would ultimately enable him to rise through the ranks at NIH. About 20 years ago, he and several friends founded a theater school. Though it no longer exists, at the time, he’d taken on the role of managing its finances.
“When I came to NIH, I thought, ‘Maybe finance is something I might want to pursue,” he said.
Tittermary began networking with budget analysts at NIH. When a position opened at NIAID, he took it. He then went to graduate school and earned two master’s degrees in finance. Now, Tittermary works in NIH’s Office of Extramural Research in a leading role.
“I found a home here at NIH, a family,” he said.
Tittermary is still working in music as a side career. For the past decade, he has been giving voice lessons on Sundays and occasionally directs musicals at the Levine School of Music. He also plays piano in some shows. He recently wrapped up a run directing Sweeney Todd in Rockville and is getting set to direct Merrily We Roll Along at the Arts Barn in Gaithersburg, which opens in March.
“I always say when I retire from government, I might go back and do music full-time again,” he said. For anyone interested in giving musical theater a try, Tittermary said, “There are so many theaters in the area producing really good shows. There are a lot of opportunities to do theater here. You just have to find them.”