By Jennifer Russo

Violin, guitar, cello, even trumpet … all mastered by one set of hands and one set of ears so innately wired for music that there can be no question of destinJesse Hanson picked up a violin at 3½ and not only learned how to play it but let it become an extension of her voice. In the 15-plus years since, she has studied classical music, reaching out her bow to touch upon bluegrass, country, folk, progressive rock and even lending her talents to hip-hop artists in the studio. Hanson has given her talents to support Worcester Music Award-winner Ashley Jordan, among many others.

“I do studio work to fund my solo career. … I get to put my formal string training to good use while meeting all kinds of musicians and playing and creating all kinds of music in all different genres, so I really love that. However, my main focus is my solo career and performing my own material and recording my own songs. What’s really cool is that I get to make investments in my solo career with the money I’ve made from studio work,” Hanson said

Hanson told Pulse

that she was homeschooled for several years, primarily so she could focus more on her violin studies. And it paid off. At 8, she won both first place at the Massachusetts Music Teachers Association conference (in classical music) and third place in New England for bluegrass fiddling at the Podunk Bluegrass Festival. Since that time, she has performed her original song “These Words” at Ashland’s POPs Night, recorded an album, went on a two-week tour with a world music group (playing all the way from Lexington, Ky., down to North Carolina and back again) and has been lining up local shows.

Her album, Back to Boston, features 10 songs of original music, including “Sojourner Truth,” a song that Hanson said “kind of demands a video for itself, since the concept is about independence and empowerment.” She is currently raising funds through PledgeMusic.com to be able to make her video.

Venturing down the road to a promising solo career, Hanson is poised for success ~ more so than even she realizes.

Though she is confident in her abilities, the singer/songwriter/musician is as down to earth and as humble as they come. She is just like any other ordinary 18-year-old with the extraordinary ability to see the blank white canvas of life and paint a glorious and colorful musical picture on it.

“Your smiles, comments, hugs and words are what fuel this career. I’ve only just started to play live as of September 2012 and released a CD three months later, and the support, attention and reception has really convinced me that this is the path that I’m supposed to be on. It feels so good, and I can never get enough of this!”

Check out what other things Hanson is up at jessehanson.me.