Tim Hankewich, 42, Cedar Rapids

Music Director @ Orchestra Iowa

At an age when most of us were planning our futures as superheroes, spacemen or fairy princesses, a young Timothy Hankewich was already hard at work turning his childhood dream job into reality: becoming a classical musician. And despite the challenges of growing up in rural Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Canada, he was determined to do whatever it took to make it happen.

“We were six hours’ drive from the nearest city. Once a month, I would fly out to Edmonton for piano lessons, and that commitment my parents made on my behalf made it clear to me at a very young age that come hell or high water, I was going to be a musician,” says Hankewich, who’s now beginning his fourth season as music director of Orchestra Iowa, formerly known as the Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra.

His devotion has certainly paid off. Hankewich came to Orchestra Iowa after seven years as resident conductor for the Kansas City Symphony, as well as a roster of guest appearances with the likes of the Oregon Symphony, Orchestra London, Cleveland Chamber Orchestra and the China Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra. His lists of accolades include the Aspen Conducting Award and a spot in the American Symphony Orchestra League’s 2001 National Conductor Preview. But, he’s sure to point out, that doesn’t make him — or the members of his orchestra — anything other than normal folks with normal jobs.

“You’ll often find the stereotype that classical musicians can be very elitist, but the truth is that it’s quite the opposite — I know musicians with the most eclectic tastes in music and the broadest interests,” Hankewich says.

His own hobbies run the gamut from ballroom dancing to bird-watching, with a healthy dose of Stargate in between.

“I love science fiction,” Hankewich says. “I’m a huge fan of Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica … anything that’s on Syfy, really.”

His interest isn’t just in the rocket-science technology of a sci-fi future, though. In a business that’s sometimes maligned for failing to keep up with the times, Hankewich is bucking the stereotype by keeping a blog on the orchestra’s Web site at www.orchestraiowa.org

And he’s challenging the assumption that classical music can’t coexist with today’s world through events like the orchestra’s Generation O networking evenings and programming (more on page 14) that pairs old masters with next-generation composers. It’s all in an effort to make orchestral music matter in a world that changes by the moment.

“You can’t rage against pop culture – it defines every generation,” Hankewich says. “When people are listening to new music, they have to be able to identify with what’s being performed, and usually that connection is a common reference to pop culture. It was the same way in Beethoven’s day.”

So what does the maestro tune in to when he’s not at the podium?

“Most people would be surprised that I find it very difficult to listen to music at home,” Hankewich says. “Whenever the stereo is on, I listen to it critically and professionally.”

Still, that doesn’t mean he has his nose in a score all the time. Away from the classical repertoire, Hankewich counts Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald among his favorites – “and lately I’ve been on this sort of Latin American, Afro-Cuban kick,” he says.

After all, Hankewich explains, it’s our connection to music that really matters, whether it’s Brahms or the Black Eyed Peas.

“People need to know that music is inseparable from the person,” he says. “It all comes down to joy.”

— JESSICA

DID YOU KNOW: Hankewich is a “television junkie.” While many of his evenings are spent behind a baton, not in front of a TV, he makes do. “That’s what TiVo is for,” he says.

WHAT HE CAN DO FOR YOU: Let Hankewich share the world of classical music with you. Read his blog at www.orchestraiowa.org