Mattie Hawrylo Courtesy of Mattie Hawrylo
Mattie Hawrylo, a senior at Camas High School (CHS), is the lead violin in the CHS orchestra. The 2024-2025 school year marks his third year playing for the school.
Following his move from Burbank, California, Hawrylo has become an integral part of the musical community at CHS.
“Mattie has consistently improved throughout the three years he has been in the CHS orchestra,” CHS Director of Instrumental Music Richard Mancini said. “He has great sound. Got technically more proficient, but was always a good player, even as a sophomore.”
“Over the four years I have been in Orchestra club [a second period class at CHS], I have played with Mattie for three years,” CHS senior Brooke Pisors said. “Players like Mattie, who are ready to play, make orchestra fun.”
Outside of school, Hawrylo plays for the Metropolitan Youth Symphony (based in Portland, Oregon) with violin and two other orchestras with cello. He says his love for violin fostered his interest in cello. With his private teacher, Hawrylo will perform a pre-concert for the Oregon Symphony at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in February.
Beyond high school, Hawrylo hopes to pursue a career in veterinary medicine while maintaining his musical interests.
“I don’t want to leave music behind because it’s something that I have been doing for so long,” Hawrylo said.
Hawrylo started his musical career at the age of six after observing his sister’s guitar performance.
“I saw a violin in the store [where his sister performed] and I wanted to play violin,” Hawrylo said. “This was when I was four or five, and my mom said, ‘When you’re six, I’ll let you.’”
This encounter changed Hawrylo’s life, introducing him to a world where “you can express yourself through different genres of music.”
“If you want to play a specific genre, you can play that genre, or you can make your own music and play it. I like that music is not limiting in that sense,” Hawrylo said.
Hawrylo’s omnipresent love for music and veterinary practices initially challenged his occupational trajectory. However, Hawrylo says that music allows for both passions to coexist.
“From a really young age, I just liked animals a lot and I knew I wanted to be a vet. At the same time, I didn’t want to abandon music and I didn’t realize that you can just continue doing it–you can join a symphony and have a job at the same time,” Hawrylo said.
Now, being accepted to University of Oregon, Oregon State University, and Western Washington University with scholarships, Hawrylo hopes to continue his music career through college orchestras.
“Whatever interest Mattie has at any point, the sky is the limit,” Mancini said. “I imagine that music will always a big part of Mattie’s life.”