In some ways, Hanna Wolle is very much a typical high school junior. She likes hanging out with her friends on the weekends, enjoys running and likes to play an occasional game of tennis.

Oh, yeah, her friends think it’s “really cool” that she plays first violin with the Des Moines Symphony, too.

When the Symphony performed this season’s opening concert, Hanna, who last month turned 16, got to share the stage with her longtime idol, violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman.

“That was amazing getting to play with him,” she said. “I have so many recordings of his of pieces that I’ve played, and it was so cool to get to meet him and shake his hand.”

Hanna, who began violin lessons when she was 4, is the youngest person to become a symphony member in his 17 years conducting the Des Moines Symphony, said Joseph Giunta, the orchestra’s music director.

“Our standards are very high, and our auditions are done behind a screen, so they’re anonymous,” Giunta said. “So the committee and I don’t have any idea of the person’s age or gender. It’s a wonderful testament to Hanna that she passed a rigorous audition and was selected.”

Wolle actually belongs to two orchestras. She has played in the Des Moines Youth Symphony for the past five years, where she’s been concert mistress — first chair, first violin – since her freshman year. An honor student at Valley High School, she carries a 3.9 grade point average. In her “free” time, she and three of her friends play in a string quartet they formed last year, performing at weddings and other events.

“Music is just a really big part of my life,” said Hanna, who tries to practice the violin at least two hours a day after school.

Her father, Karl, played the viola with the Sioux City Symphony while he was a student at Morningside College, and each of his brothers is involved in music in some way.

“I grew up in a family full of music,” Hanna said. “All of my uncles on my dad’s side play instruments, so it was just normal for me to start.”

Working with her dad and her instructor, Cheryl Kutscher, Hanna completed all 10 books of the Suzuki Method by the time she was 10.

“She never wanted to quit,” Karl Wolle said. “I was lucky because I knew she had some ability; that kept me going. There were some times when it was difficult. But in about the past six years, it’s been hands-off. I attribute that a lot to her teacher, Cheryl. She has a very good relationship with her teacher; it’s very nurturing. That really allowed me to back off and for her to blossom on her own.”

As a defense attorney in the state public defender’s office who deals mostly with juvenile cases, Wolle said he’s a firm believer in music, or any other pursuits that keep children active and engaged.

In addition to music, law also runs in the Wolle family. Hanna’s grandfather, Charles Wolle, is an attorney and retired state district judge.

“I wanted to be a lawyer for a long time,” Hanna said. “But after thinking about it for a while, I don’t think that’s the right field for me. I really haven’t thought much about what I want to do.”

She’s also thought about music conservatories such as the Juilliard School, but has ruled that out because she wants to be able to combine a music major with one of her other favorite subjects – English or history.

Giunta, who was a next-door neighbor of the Wolles, has known Hanna for years.

“I have enjoyed watching Hanna grow up not only musically but as a young person,” he said. “She’s quite a kid and I’m very fond of her. I’m sure that she’s going to be very successful in whatever she does in life. One of the things that music teaches us is how to listen. That’s going to serve her well.”