Andrew Timar has been active in Toronto’s New Music and World Music scenes since the 1970’s as a composer, musician, teacher, arts administrator and as founding editor of MUSICWORKS magazine. At first he performed, taught bassoon and keyboards and composed music for various media. He has founded several groups whose focus is the development and performance of contemporary concert music, often including multimedia elements. Andrew has composed for, performed and recorded with a number of Toronto-based groups: Musicdance Orchestra, New Music Co-op, Critical Band, New Music Concerts. He has performed with legendary artists Jon Hassell, Brian Eno, Trichy Sankaran and Laurie Anderson.Over the past 20 years he has made his mark as a suling (Indonesian bamboo ring flute) and gamelan player, concert organiser and teacher.?As a suling and gamelan performer, he?has been active throughout Canada, Europe, Japan and Indonesia. Andrew served as the Artistic Director of Evergreen Club contemporary gamelan from 1987 to 1990. Under his direction the group toured Europe and western Canada and released a CD.?
?He founded Gamelan Toronto, the city’s first permanent Karawitan Jawa (gamelan) group, studying and performing Javanese gamelan and vocal music in 1995. To celebrate “Canada’s Year of Asia Pacific” Andrew conceived and directed Gamelan Summit Festival 1997, the first national gathering of gamelan-related performance groups from across Canada, playing host to over 75 performers. His more recent projects include?forming the groups Nada Rasa, co-directed with Trichy Sankaran; Sunda Duo with Bill Parsons and Suling Nova, featuring his pioneering suling adaptations and performances. These projects feature the suling in various combinations with both Western and Asian instruments and musical languages.?As a composer, Andrew has been commissioned to compose for groups such as Arraymusic, Critical Band, Musicdance Orchestra, Evergreen Club, Nishigawa Ensemble, Winnipeg Gender Wayang, Aradia Baroque Orchestra, etc, and has produced music for numerous dance and film productions.
?As a gamelan instructor, Andrew was invited in 1999 to establish a gamelan studio programme at York University and served as its first Course Director. In 2000 he co-authored a curriculum to teach gamelan and wayang for the 560 school Toronto District School Board (TDSB). Andrew continues to implement the board-wide programme with 3 active Javanese gamelan/s for the TDSB as its? Gamelan Consultant and Programme Director. In 2003/4, he served as co-instructor of the gamelan degung course at Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music.
