When Elliott Burris graduated from the Mathematics and Science High School at Clover Hill in Chesterfield County, he was certain he wanted to pursue music.
That's not surprising – his father, Allen, is an endocrinologist, classical flutist and jazz musician, and his grandfather, George, was both a chemist and a noted New York City pianist.
The Midlothian resident applied to several conservatories and music academies – and the University of Virginia. "Really, I just applied to U.Va. because my sister went there at the time and my father went there back in the day," he said recently, as he prepared to graduate on May 22 with a degree in music, and head off to be become … a commodities trader at Morgan Stanley's offices in Greenwich, Conn.
He chose U.Va. "for a number of family reasons and other things," and promptly began exploring all of the nooks and crannies of the College of Arts & Sciences, taking classes in math, Tibetan Buddhism, sociology – "everything under the sun."
