Sten Hanson worked with experimental music, literature and art since the beginning of the 1960’s, cultivating instrumental, vocal and electro-acoustic music for performance on radio and television, on outdoor occasions and from the concert platform. From an early stage he was aware of the importance of tape-recording techniques in the renewal and development of poetry’s resources. Text-sound-visual image, often combined with intensely personal ‘live” performances, are vital ingredients in Sten Hanson’s artistic workmanship and he is ore of the forerunners in the field of multi-media art. Sten Hanson has been on numerous performing and lecturing tours all over the world. He was quick to realize the importance of the tape recorder as a factor in the renewal of poetry and the ability of text-sound compositions to break the isolation often experienced by an author in a small language area. His works include electro-acoustic pieces as well as instrumental and vocal compositions.
Sten Hanson, was leader of the Fylkingen language group from 1968 and in charge of the Text-Sound Festivals which span many years. He is self-taught as a composer. In Sweden, he was Director (1968-1977) and then Chairman (1980-1984) of the concert organization Fylkingen, chairman of the ISCM (1975-1981), member of the Royal Academy of Music of Sweden and President of the Swedish Composers’ Union (1985-1994), member of the Executive Committee of International Confederation of Electroacoustic Music (ICEM (1981-1982) and Chairman of this organization from 1997 to 2002. He has been member of College compositeur de GMEB from 1982, member of the Executive Committee of the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) from 1982, member of the Executive Committee of the Electronic Music Studio, and Chairman of the Society of Swedish Composers (1984-1994).