Marta Hansen
And Music For AllBy Rebecca Anderson-Brown, Kate Bast, Lisa Bauer, Shelby Deering, Elle Duncombe-Mills, Jenie Gao, Emily Leas, Marni McEntee, Candice Wagener & Rachel Werner | Photographed by Hillary Schave
Marta Hansen is an optimistic force to be reckoned with. She has run her business, The Piano Gal Shop, for seven years, and earned her recognition as a community leader.
Hansen taught in public school for six years before leaving to raise her son. While teaching private music lessons, she learned to tune a piano, and was soon tuning pianos for others, filling the need for a music store in Sun Prairie and working on a vision to make music accessible and approachable. “I want to get a piano in every home,” Hansen says of her work to find good, affordable, used and even fancifully decorated pianos, especially for families.
Her store is also her creative workshop: Hansen upcycles retired pianos into custom furniture, goods and accessories.
But beyond entrepreneurship, Hansen’s core purpose is community outreach. She donated a piano to UW Health at the American Center and played it at the facility’s grand opening. She gives free concerts in public spaces. In 2017, she’ll take these performances to a new and novel level: Collaborating with parks and recreation departments, Hansen will place painted pianos throughout public parks, welcoming everyone to freely explore their creativity. –Jenie Gao
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