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In many ways, Leon High School 12th-grader Hannah Prasse is just like any other teenager. She is bubbly, enjoys spending time with friends, and is contemplating her future. According to Tabitha Peck, Leon’s director of choral activities, Hannah differs from the typical teenager in one significant way, specifically “her incredible, vast talent in so many different disciplines. She plays bass in the steel pan small ensemble, she’s in the orchestra, she’s in two choirs, an afterschool ensemble, jazz band, and of course she takes private voice lessons and private bass lessons,” said Peck.
Hannah’s innate talent and interest in music can be linked to her upbringing. Both of her parents are musicians and music plays a major part in daily life for her and her two younger brothers. “For a little while, I was thinking, am I choosing music for me or am I choosing music because my family is involved? I feel like part of deciding what you want to do, going into college, going into a career, is figuring out what you enjoy, what you’re good at and what makes sense. It’s just what I was supposed to do. I can’t not have this in my life.”
With her sights set on higher education, Hannah is currently preparing her application for the FSU College of Music, which requires an audition. Though she’ll likely seek a music education undergraduate degree, her ultimate goal is a master’s in music therapy. “That’s something that has always interested me. There are studies that show babies nurse better when they’re listening to music.
Babies don’t even have a concept of what music is but, for some reason, it affects them in a physical way. Why, why does that happen? I want to know. There are answers that I’ve got to find.”
Hannah is already exploring the field and completed a summer internship with Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, where she performed for patients. It is because of her initiative and tenacity that Peck considered Hannah an ideal candidate for a special recognition, the Florida Jazz and Blues Festival scholarship.
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