There’s music inside Gracie Slocum, and sometimes she has to set it free — singing her heart out in her bedroom, the kitchen, the living room, the car. “My parents are always yelling at me to stop!” laughs the 11-yearold, who has been a member of the Pensacola Children’s Chorus for the past three years. “It’s just something I’ve always loved. It’s a passion!” Her mom and dad are also her two biggest fans, nurturing her talent
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appeared in the PCC’s popular “Christmas on the Coast” as well as the Pensacola Little Theatre’s productions of “The Snow White Variety Show” and “The Further Adventures of Nick Tickle, Fairy Tale Detective.” When it comes to performing, Gracie’s favorite part is the moment it ends — when the lights are bright, and the applause is deafening. “Every nerve in your brain goes away, and you’re like, ‘I did it!’ … and you have all this confidence running through you,” she said. While Gracie dreams of one day being on stage as a professional, she’s not entirely sure what that will look like. She is sure that it will take a lot of hard work, and that’s just fine. “In the end, I am learning,” she said, “so it’s not a waste of my time!”
PHOTOS BY STEPHAN VANCE
Gracie Slocum
with a careful eye, carrying her to once-a-week voice lessons with wellknown soprano Sewell Griffith and to countless Pensacola Children’s Chorus rehearsals. While Gracie — who’s a sixthgrader at Sacred Heart Cathedral School — is aware that she has something many adults call “raw talent,” she likes to sing, dance and act simply because it’s fun. Even the stomachchurning experience of auditioning. “It’s kind of horrible because you’re so nervous,” she said. “It’s very hard to sing in front of people, but every time it gets easier.” To calm herself before a performance, she uses a trick Griffith taught her. “I take in a breath and hold it for 10 seconds — it helps me gain confidence,” said Gracie, who has