‘This idea that music is for people who can afford it is, in my opinion, indicative of a much more serious issue in society in general,' says Tim Hansen. 'Making sure people have access to music and music education is part of healing communities, getting rid of those fractures that have sprung up everywhere.'
Tim Hansen is a multi-disciplinary artist, with a professional career spanning 20 years in the fields of music and theatre. He is a composer, songwriter, cabaret performer, actor, educator, and advocate for the Arts as a vital means for social justice and social cohesion. He currently lives on Wiradjuri Country in Australia.
Tim’s style draws from a lifetime of eclectic music tastes and a deep fascination for how music works. As a result, his music and songs can trace their lineage to anything from German cabaret to 21st Century Post-Minimalism, from contemporary music theatre to classic jazz, the most bubble-gum of pop to the weirdest experimental music. If it works, it works.
'It needs to be creative at its core.'
‘If I had to give a one word sum up of what I do I’d say I’m a composer, but that barely scratches the surface of what I do. I started music as a composer but prior to that I studied theatre at CSU in Bathurst... I feel like the central motivator of how I choose what to do or not do is that it needs to be creative at its core.’
Right now, he is working with Orchestra Victoria to help them create an education package touring into regional areas in Victoria with a program that outlines how music and maths overlap.
‘I’m curating a concert of works for the ensemble to demonstrate mathematical principles in music but I’m also creating a program of educational activities that teachers can do at school that are both maths and music oriented. On top of that I’m writing a piece for the orchestra to play that demonstrates some of the mathematical stuff we talk about, that’s interactive: the students get to choose what bits of the piece get performed so it’s always interactive.’
In his role as teaching artist for Musica Viva Australia’s immersive three-year Music Education Residency Program, he is currently making music at Plunkett Street School in inner Sydney and at Ashcroft Public School in Southwest Sydney.
Ashcroft Public School, a P-6 school, has a diverse population from 31 different cultural groups including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, as well as two support unit classes, catering for students with autism.
Working in a primary school in an area of socio-economic disadvantage has allowed Tim to use his passion for social justice to ensure that more children have access to music education.
‘I feel that unfortunately music education and music in general has been cast as this elite value-add in education – if you think about private schools, one of the things they always tout is their music programs... Really, that should be a standard in every school. This idea that music is for people who can afford it is, in my opinion, indicative of a much more serious issue in society in general.’
Tim has also worked with organisations such as Milk Crate Theatre and Shopfront Youth Theatre. By giving artistic access to parts of the community that are forced into invisibility, Tim believes we can make steps towards healing those wounds and move forward as a society to address larger issues that affect us all.
This is part of a series of Untold Stories, about the people behind the music at Musica Viva Australia. Play your part in the future story of Musica Viva Australia by making a gift in our 80th anniversary year. To discuss making a gift, please contact Zoe Cobden-Jewitt, zcobden-jewitt@musicaviva.com.au