Mats O Hansson was born 1960 in Göteborg at the west coast of Sweden. He started playing the piano at the age of 11 and soon thereafter begun to compose music for piano. A few years later he started playing the organ and was from 1974 to 1998 active as a church musician.

He completed his studies in computer science 1983. Along with his career as a programmer and systems analyst he also composed a lot of stage music commisioned by theatre groups in Göteborg. During this period he also composed for TV, radio and exhibitions.
1993-1997 he studied composition at the School of Music at the Göteborg University and left with a Master of Fine Arts. Among his teachers was Carl-Axel Hall, Lennart Hall and Vladimir Kovár.

With a background in computer science it was inevitable that this would influence his composing work. He continuously search the ultimate balance between computer generated raw material and the traditional handicraft of the trade where the two parts contribute in its best ways. Developing his own computer programs in support of the composing work is also a natural consequence.

He has been represented at the contemporary music festivals UNM in Copenhagen and GAS in Göteborg, and are at the present composing mainly chamber music for small ensembles and soloists.

Member of The Society of Swedish Composers (FST) as well as the swedish section of the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM)