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
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