AUBURN - Many great musicians, like Beethoven and Mozart, began their careers at a very early age, just in the single digits. Auburn native Nicholas Hrynyk is no exception.

Growing up, Hrynyk, 18, loved to listen to his father, Greg, play piano.

“Ever since I was little I liked to listen to him play, and he showed me a few little things when I was a little kid,” Hrynyk said. “We’d always listen to him and that was when I really got interested in the instrument.”

By the time he was 9, Hrynyk took a more active interest in piano and began formal study with Dee Piper in Elbridge.

Piper helped Hrynyk form a foundation in music, teaching him many of the basics and fundamentals.

“She taught me a lot about music,” Hrynyk said. “We worked on site reading and things like that. I like a lot of genres of music and I have always had an interest in classical music.”

Piper helped Hrynyk develop his interest in music, and gave him the opportunity to begin performing at various recitals.

After studying with Piper for about four years, Hrynyk began studies with John Spradling in Syracuse, which allowed him to develop his skills and natural talents even further.

“Studying with John has been very serious,” Hrynyk said. “He has really helped me develop my technique. He is a very well-known and well-respected teacher and he has really helped me to develop as a player and as a musician.”

Studying with Spradling has also offered Hrynyk the opportunity to take his career to another level. Hrynyk said that since he has been a student of Spradling’s, he has entered numerous competitions.

“I probably enter at least four or five contests a year,” Hrynyk said. “And I perform every chance I get.

I enjoy competitions. They are very competitive. It is another level. The judges will pick what they are looking for. It helps you build your confidence and I enjoy the competition, it is like playing a sport for me. I enjoy the competition and I enjoy the feedback.”

Locally, Hrynyk has been a regular performer at places like the Boyle Center and has also performed with the Auburn Chamber Orchestra, at the Everson Museum and Willard Chapel.

“I like performing,” Hrynyk said. “I try to express what the composer had in mind when they wrote the piece, but when I am performing at places like the Boyle Center, I can also express a little of myself in the piece and show how I feel the music.”

In recent years, Hrynyk has also begun to seriously work on his own original composition, further allowing him to express his own thoughts and feelings through his music.

“Mostly they have been for piano,” Hrynyk said. “But I’d like to start composing for more instruments, like oboe and strings and voice as well. I would like to get more and more into composition.”

Hrynyk is also very active in the Auburn High School music program as a performer in the orchestra and jazz band, as well as a member of the chorus.

After dedicating much of his life to music, Hrynyk will be heading to the Eastman School of Music in the fall to begin work on his degree. Already he has had the good fortune to take lessons with one of his future instructors, Natalya Antonova, as well as Daniela Mineva. To say the least, Hrynyk is excited by his future prospects.

“It (Eastman) is one of the top schools for music in the world,” Hrynyk said. “The teachers are great and I respect them so much, I can learn so much from them.”

Hrynyk hopes to follow in the footsteps of his instructors and one day earn his Ph.D. in music.

“I’d like to have a career as a performer,” Hrynyk said. “I’d like to be a successful composer and I think I would really enjoy one day being able to teach on the college level.”

On June 28, Hrynyk will be performing at Willard Chapel - an experience that he continues to enjoy.

“I really enjoy playing for people in the community,” Hrynyk said. “I love playing here in Auburn and Willard Chapel is a great place to play.”