Timothy Ballan (b. 1985) is a writer, composer, pianist, and music teacher who has been active in his fields since the age of seventeen. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a Certificate of Piano Pedagogy from Valley City State University, and national certification in piano pedagogy from the Music Teachers National Association.
          As a writer, Timothy mostly writes plotless stories, atmospheric vignettes, poems, and non-pretentious philosophy. In terms of his creative writing, much involves the subject of or surreal nature of dreams. In terms of philosophy, Timothy's main goal is to demonstrate how most senses of separation are tied to human illusion. He simultaneously attempts to underline the inherent interconnectedness in reality, with evidential support from the physical sciences.
          As a composer, Timothy mostly writes accessible art music both for film and concert. The scale of his nearly one hundred works ranges from solo to symphonic. Timothy is mostly influenced by Western and non-Western folk music, Western hymns and spirituals, melodic cinematic music, and minimalism. He is also influenced by composers Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Claude Debussy, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams, James Horner, Danny Elfman, and John Adams. Timothy's primary teachers in composition have included Rasim Ibrahimov, Sally Lamb McCune at Syracuse University, and Kyle Martin at Worcester State University.
          As a performer, Timothy most often performs on the piano and, sometimes, on various non-Western woodwind and percussion and clarinet. Many of his performances, concert and functional, feature solo improvisation. Most other performances feature classical chamber works.
         As a teacher, Timothy teaches private piano lessons and leads music programs in schools and other centers in and around Springfield, Massachusetts. His music programs center around a large private collection of world percussion while implementing piano and a portable musical production studio. He keeps a small number of private students while attempting to expand the reach of his music programs especially across underserved schools and youth centers.
         In his free time, Timothy enjoys coffee, driving on country roads, nature walks, scary movies, and sharing time and an absurd sense of humor with his human and mint-flavored bobby-pin friends. He currently resides in Springfield, Massachusetts, a city to whose revival he is dedicated.