Trevor MacHattie is not only an engineer, traveller, hiker, father of three grown daughters, and the husband of a musician, but also the principal cellist of the Sooke Philharmonic Orchestra.
The love of music, specifically the cello, emerged both from parental examples of musicianship and hearing the famous cello solo, The Swan, by the composer Camille Saint-Saens, the same musical piece featured in the Tea and Symphony concert held on February 16.
At 10-years-of-age he began playing the cello, becoming involved in his teenage years with the National Youth Orchestra. It was because of a mutual interest in music while Trevor was attending Queens University that he met his wife, Michele. Family and career sidetracked playing music until they arrived in Sooke by choice. The primary factor regarding their relocation from Ontario was the surprise that such a small town as Sooke had a vibrant orchestra directed by an exceptional conductor, the world renowned Maestro Norman Nelson. As principal cellist Machattie now leads a group of four to 10 cellists each concert. One overarching appreciation MacHattie has for the orchestral music that Maestro Nelson chooses is the variety offered, as each music genre, whether classical or contemporary, can appeal to every musician as well as to every concert goer.
