Timothy Hanley

Timothy Hanley is a clarinetist, woodwind doubler, audio engineer, and educator based in Brooklyn, New York. Originally from Houston, Texas, he is an active freelance performer and teacher in the New York and New Jersey area. He is the bass clarinetist of Voyager Reed Quintet and the clarinetist of Duo TexArkana. As an orchestral musician, Timothy has performed with the Hudson Valley Symphony Orchestra, New Brunswick Chamber Orchestra, Massapequa Philharmonic Orchestra, Mid-Atlantic Philharmonic, Somerset Symphony Orchestra, Light Opera of New York, OperaMaya Festival, Opera in the Ozarks, and PRISMA Festival Orchestra. Other highlights include performing in theatre productions for StageWorks Theatre Group, Irvington Theater, and James Caldwell High School; premiering new works with the New York Composers Circle; performing at International Clarinet Association ClarinetFest conferences in Denver and Dublin; and touring Sardinia with a wind quintet as part of the Tra Mare, Stelle e Magia Festival. He appeared as a soloist with the Boston Conservatory Conductor's Orchestra in 2019 and was named Young Artist of the Year at the 2017 Zodiac Music Festival in the Côte d'Azur, France. Timothy earned a Bachelor of Music from the University of Houston and a Master of Music from Boston Conservatory at Berklee. He completed his Doctor of Musical Arts coursework at Rutgers University and subsequently worked on his dissertation. His principal teachers include Mark Dover, Jessica Phillips, Yaoguang Zhai, Michael Norsworthy, and Randall Griffin. Timothy volunteers with the administrative team of Through the Staff, an organization working to remove systemic barriers that prevent young musicians from accessing educational resources. He also teaches privately in New York and New Jersey and records concerts throughout the northeastern United States.

Timothy Hanley performs on a Royal Global Firebird Low C Bass clarinet with a standard Selmer Presence barrel, sometimes alternating with a Michael Norsworthy “Reedworthy” barrel, and Mike Dassios B1 and Brian Corbin Kilauea C3 mouthpieces. He loves the Firebird's deep, rich sound and the flexibility that lets him move among contemporary chamber music, solo repertoire, and orchestral playing. He also considers it a beautiful instrument that looks as good as it sounds. When he was buying a bass clarinet, he tried several brands owned by his school and found different strengths in each. The Firebird brought those strengths together in one versatile instrument and offered what he considers the best price for a top-of-the-line bass clarinet. Since acquiring it in 2020, Timothy has grown substantially as both a bass clarinetist and musician. He plays it full time in Voyager Reed Quintet, took it to the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and ClarinetFest performances in Dublin and Denver, relied on it throughout his doctoral studies at Rutgers, and used it for major bass-clarinet parts in orchestral debuts with the Somerset Symphony, Mid-Atlantic Philharmonic, and PRISMA Festival Orchestra. He credits the instrument with helping him find his musical voice and establish his career.