A four-year-old boy is pulling at his mother’s skirt, pleading with her to let him play the violin. His mother asks him if he is going to practice every day. The boy assures her that he will. His mother sighs. After a week of begging, she decides her son is serious enough to give it a try. Sixteen years later, the same boy is sitting across from me in his desk chair. These days, Blake Hansen not only rips across the black ebony fretboard of the violin, but his fingers flutter over the keys of the piano as blazing arpeggios soar out from the depths of any piano he approaches.
Ken Baughman / photo
Marla Hansen, Blake’s sister, has the same story. Marla first picked up the violin when she was a mere three-and-a-half years old, although that wasn’t when her musical passion began in earnest. By the time she was sixteen, music was all Marla could think about doing with her life. Together, the Hansen siblings are two of the most impressive student pianists on campus.
Blake has taken music seriously as a potential profession for three or four years. He initially thought he wanted to study biology or environmental science, and he says there was even a time when he wanted to go to culinary school. Today, it is all about the music. He says, “I know what it takes to be a good musician, and it takes a lot of work.” The Hansens’ musical talent comes from their mother, who is a flautist. She has played in many professional groups, including “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band.
Well-recognized for his talent, Blake has placed in every music competition he has entered except for one. He once won first prize at The Redlands Bowl Summer Music Festival, which hosts professional musicians and orchestras every summer. This past spring, Blake was selected to play with a few other Prin students, faculty, and alumnae in New York City at Steinway Hall, just down the street from Carnegie Hall.
Ken Baughman / photo
Dr. Marie Jureit-Beamish, Blake’s teacher and a professor in the music department, says, “He has contributed a great deal to the music department through Music At Davis, as well as the Steinway Concert and many other performances. He is a wonderful student.”
Marla’s greatest love next to music is wildlife conservation. She says: “When we lived in California, we went to the San Diego Zoo. We used to give tours to our friends because we knew the park so well from visiting it so many times.” The Hansen family got their first television when Marla was 15 years old, and they watched almost exclusively nature shows until they had seen every episode available.
The Hansens were homeschooled because they moved around often due to their father’s Navy career. Blake speaks about the freedom this education gave him to focus on the things he likes. He says, “I feel [home-schooling] helps you focus so you don’t have the normal distractions of the society of youth.”
Marla says of her brother, “He always tries to focus on one thing but it never works out that way, especially here at Prin because we all get so busy.” Blake works on each piece for a month or so before it is ready for a performance. “I always feel satisfied after a good day of practice,” he comments.
Ken Baughman / photo
The Hansens share many interests aside from music, including chess, history, cooking, horseback riding, and bowling. Both siblings used to be part of a bowling team that competed nationally against more than fifty teams.
The Hansens have lived in Florida, Scotland, Italy, southern California, and North Carolina, and have traveled extensively. Marla says they were able to visit almost everywhere in Western Europe. “Europe is one place I’d like to go back to,” says Marla. “It was amazing.” Marla said she particularly enjoyed the historical aspect of her travels.
In the end, the Hansens pursue what they love, and because they have been able to focus on those things, they are both very good at what they do.
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