FIELD of DREAMS
Aurora Alternative was created in a seedling of a dream decades ago. Now, the dream has blossomed into a beautiful and bright reality and each day I am grateful for this incredible gift.
It is my heart’s intention to foster, in our community, a place where we can support each others’ dreams; simply receiving and welcoming an idea adds colour to the possibility and potential. In this way, one person’s dream might give momentum to another’s and a chain reaction has burst into motion.
“Build it and they will come.”
Meet Timothy Bartsch, aka “T” – A Story of Music, Resilience, and a Vision for Healing Through Art
Timothy Bartsch—known artistically as “T” — is a classically trained cellist, rock musician, and storyteller whose journey through immense personal adversity has become a force for transformative change.
Living with HIV since 1996 and having survived a near-death experience from AIDS in 2009, T now thrives as a husband and proud father to a healthy, happy son attending Aurora Alternative School in Toronto. His life is a testament to the power of resilience, music, and purposeful creativity — and he’s using his story to uplift others through a bold, multidisciplinary media initiative: the Southern Time Platform.
What Is the Southern Time Platform?
The Southern Time Platform is a visionary fusion of entertainment and advocacy, integrating music, film, and community to spark truth, healing, and social change. At its heart is the belief that creative expression can restore dignity and break down stigma—especially around topics like HIV/AIDS, mental health, and inequality.
This platform is home to several powerful branches:
Southern Time Band: A diverse musical group blending rock, classical, and world influences with deeply personal storytelling. Many band members are open about living with HIV, bringing authenticity and vulnerability to the stage. Their performances are more than concerts—they’re healing journeys.
Southern Time Foundation: The nonprofit arm of the platform, this charitable foundation supports education, awareness, and de-stigmatization campaigns—especially for youth and marginalized communities. Its mission is to help bring about an AIDS-free world and cultivate hope through artistic outreach.
Dreamer: T’s flagship project is Dreamer, an autobiographical rock musical drama series. Dreamer tells T’s powerful story—his struggles as a young classical musician, his experience with HIV/AIDS, and his ultimate transformation into a voice of healing. The series is raw, honest, and uplifting. It speaks to anyone who’s ever felt silenced or lost and dares to dream again.
How You Can Help
The Southern Time Platform is launching a Kickstarter campaign on July 8th, 2025, to raise vital pre-production funds for Dreamer, Season One. These funds will help bring the pilot episode to life and begin production on the integrated digital platform—an innovative space that combines streaming for socially conscious music and film with a vibrant online community.
By supporting this campaign, you’ll be helping to:
Break the silence around HIV/AIDS and mental health
Promote inclusive and empowering media
Provide sustainable work for artists with lived experiences
Amplify voices that deserve to be heard T’s story isn’t just about survival—it’s about transformation, compassion, and the belief that music and storytelling can heal the world.
Join the movement. Be part of the story.
👉 https://southerntime.ca/kickstarter/
For media inquiries, speaking opportunities, or to collaborate with Southern Time, please reach out through the contact page on the Kickstarter site or visit southerntime.ca.
Diana Church
VP, Talent & Culture at Operation Smile Canada
This is me holding a child born with a cleft lip in Honduras in 2019 at one of Operation Smile’s surgical programs. My dream was to be part of something bigger then myself which is why I decided to switch from the corporate world to not-for-profit in 2012. At Operation Smile, we help hundreds and thousands of children around the world receive free surgery and comprehensive care, giving them a chance to follow their dreams. That same belief in the power of dreams led me to enroll my own children at Aurora Alternative in 2022.
Operation Smile a volunteer-delivered global medical nonprofit that provides free, safe surgery and comprehensive care to patients with cleft conditions and craniofacial differences in 37 countries around the world. Operation Smile is committed to a world where health and dignity are improved through safe surgery and complete care.
You can learn more about Operation Smile in Canada by visiting: https://operationsmile.ca.
