Mayfield’s top grad mixes music with math

July 28, 2017 · 0 Comments

Luke Matta’s will be studying business at
Wilfrid Laurier University and math at the University of Waterloo.

By Bill Rea
Luke Matta’s Grade 12 program was mixture of music and maths, and it certainly didn’t do him much harm.
Indeed, he has emerged as the top graduating scholar this year at Mayfield Secondary School.
He completed his last year in high school with a 98.2 per cent average. There were two music courses that saw him achieve final marks of 99 per cent and 100, as well as vocal jazz, in which he got 95 per cent. On the technical side of things, he finished with 100 per cent in calculus, 99 in data management and 96 in advanced functions.
His future academic plans call for him to take business at Wilfrid Laurier University and math at the University of Waterloo in a joint five-year program.
Matta said he’s always done well in school. “Grade 12 was my best year, though,” he added with a grin.
He said he put some extra effort into his calculus studies, and also devoted more time to practising music, playing the double bass, and working on his theory and history in that area. He was also working on two individual study units in music. One semester had him arranging a vocal jazz version of Rock With You by Michael Jackson. The other semester saw him performing a work to the Grade 8 Royal Conservatory of Music standard.
Matta said he’s been playing the piano since he was five.
“I’ve been developing that skill for some time,” he observed, adding the years of experience came in handy when it came to dealing with theory in class.
Matta had a couple of explanations for his academic success.
“I just have a really good ability to absorb information,” he observed, adding he’s also very good at coming up with detailed answers in other courses. It also helps that he enjoys school.
“High school was enjoyable, and math is my favourite subject,” he said, adding he likes to make graphs or practise calculus concepts when he has down time. Thinking about how things happens, he said, improves understanding of how to apply the knowledge, rather than just relying on the notes he took.
Matta said he’s not sure about what the future is going to hold for him. The university program he’s chosen is going to give him the chance to experience both business and math, and he’ll decide later on which of those two fields to apply more of a focus.
“I have five years, and I get to go co-op, so hopefully, that will help me get a better idea,” he commented.
Although he was aware his grades were good, Matta said he was “very surprised” that he finished at the top of his class. He had figured that someone in the class had to be higher, but that wasn’t the case.
Music is also going to remain part of his life. Matta said he’s taking his guitar when he goes to university, and he’s hoping to do some performing and recording in his spare time. And when he gets a place of his own, he’s planning to set up a home studio.
Matta said he’s given some thought to a career in music, but he’s not too keen on that.
“It’s a very risky field to go into,” he said, adding he’s not ready to take that risk.
He said he’d prefer to keep it as a “recreational passion.”