Matej Mijalić was born on October 26, 2000, in Rijeka. He began playing the violin at the age of eight and attended primary and secondary school at the “Ivan Matetić Ronjgov” School of Music, studying under Danijel Trinajstić. At the age of twelve, he enrolled in the “Kurs für hochbegabte” (Course for the Highly Gifted) at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, under the tutelage of Marina Sorokowa. He graduated in 2022 from the Music Academy under the guidance of Orest Shourgot.
During his education, he won numerous first prizes at both national and international competitions, including HDGPP (2012, 2014, 2016, 2018), Daleki Akordi (2014), Tirando Pizzicato (2015), Svirel (2017, 2018).
He was the absolute winner of the Young Virtuosos competition in Zagreb in 2019 and received a special award from the Croatian Composers’ Society.
In the same year, he won the Lions Grand Prix competition in Rijeka, where he also received the audience award.
Matej is a laureate of the 18th International Rudolf Matz Competition in Čakovec.
He has performed as a soloist with the Zagreb Philharmonic, Zagreb Soloists, and the Orchestra of the Music Academy. In 2022, he was awarded the Dean’s Prize.