Educate. Inspire.
The Geoffrey James Lee School of Music is a non-profit community music school offering affordable music lessons for students of all ages and skill levels.
Lessons are taught by a professional and experienced faculty that encourages learning in a warm and nurturing atmosphere.
We aim to inspire the love of music in our students and give them the tools to help them reach their individual music goal
We teach a range of instruments:
- Violin
- Viola
- Cello
- Double Bass
- Bassoon
- Clarinet
- Flute
- Oboe
- Recorder
- Saxophone
- Horn
- Trombone
- Trumpet
- Tuba
- Piano
- Theory
Voice lessons are available from an associate teacher.
We offer both in-person and on-line formats. The school is also equipped with a contactless music studio generously donated by Bercell Integrated Technologies.
Did you know music can improve brain health and mental well being in participants of all ages? Numerous studies have linked musical education to increased grades, building of self-esteem and confidence in youth.
As they advance in their studies, students are encouraged to play in a music school ensemble. Advanced students are welcome to audition for the Timmins Symphony Orchestra.
Other opportunities may include workshops, masterclasses, recitals, community performances, and participation in the Porcupine Music Festival de Musique. We also can prepare students for Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) exams.
To enquire about music lessons please email tsooffice@timminssymphony.com or call 705-267-1006.
Our Teachers
Cello
Yu Pei
Yu Pei is a dynamic young cellist. She followed the instructions of associate professor Long Man when she was nine years old and specialized in cello. In 2015, she was admitted to Shanghai Conservatory of Music, studying under the instruction of Professor Li Ji-Wu, a fellow of the Royal Academy of Music, and the director of the Orchestral Instrument Department. In June 2022, she completed a Master’s in String Performance at Brandon University under Dr. Leanne Zacharias.
Yu has more than 10 years of performing experience. In 2010, she held her first solo concert at the Wuhan Conservatory of Music. In 2014, she won the second prize in the Hong Kong International String Competition’s young cellist group. In 2015, she was selected for the final of the National Youth Cello Competition (China). She also performed in many masterclasses such as with Jian Wang, Wen-Sinn Yang, David Tinsley Strange, Hai-Ye Ni, David Geber, and Astrid Schween.
Yu loves playing in chamber ensembles and orchestra. In 2009, she was admitted to Beijing Great Wall International Music Academy, co-organized by the Starling Project Foundation and the Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati. In 2013, she was invited to attend Cello An American Experience Art festival in Minnesota.
In 2017, she was offered a full scholarship and became a regular member of the NYO-China and toured with Dovic Morlet, Yu-Jia Wang, and Olga Kern, performing at Carnegie Hall, Beijing Concert Hall, Shanghai Oriental Art Center, and Suzhou Art Center. In 2018, she ranked top among hundreds of young musicians worldwide and was elected as a member of the Symphony Orchestra of Youth Music Culture Guangdong (YMCG), of which Yo-Yo Ma was the music director performing in Guangzhou, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
Yu is very passionate about teaching. She believes that music should be available to everyone. She currently serves as Principal Cello of the Timmins Symphony Orchestra and the TSO cello faculty.
Violin + Viola
Joanna Millson
Growing up in Nova Scotia, Joanna fell in love with playing music while attending fiddling camps in Cape Breton. Her musical interests grew to include classical music, which led her to become part of the NS youth orchestra and the Caledonia fiddle orchestra. These experiences inspired her to pursue her undergraduate degree in music at Memorial University of Newfoundland. While in St. John’s, she studied under Dr. Nancy Dahn, violinist in the well known chamber group Duo Concertante. Through her, Joanna developed a love of chamber music and collaboration and became a member of the Newfoundland Symphony
Orchestra and Sinfonia, numerous chamber ensembles, and a participant in the Tuckamore Chamber Music Festival. She graduated with honours in 2008 with a Bachelor of MusicPerformance in Violin and Viola. Upon graduation, Joanna moved to Halifax, NS where she began a career focused on strengthening the musical community to ensure all musicians could experience the joy of playing music together. While in Halifax, she worked with amateur musicians and lent her hand in local community orchestras such as the Chebucto Symphony Orchestra and Nova Sinfonia. In 2012 she moved to the Timmins area and found an incredibly strong and welcoming music family. She currently leads the Second Violins in the Orchestra. She also plays with various chamber music ensembles and regularly takes part in the TSO chamber series. She is a TSO faculty teaching violin and viola.
Woodwinds
Mits Takayesu-Douglas
Mits graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a degree in Music Education, studying under David Haward and Thomas Elliot. He performed with Orchestras in Guelph, London and Hamilton while acquiring a Master’s Degree in Library Science. He has attended International Double Reed Society conferences in Wisconsin and Banff, the Amherst Early Music Festival in Massachusetts, the Long Island Recorder Festival in New York and the Vancouver Early Music Festival. He continues to play in the Timmins All-Star Big Band. He was also part of the Timmins Wind Ensemble and was director of the choir Aurora Chorealis for four years. He has also been a staff member for the Kincardine Summer Music Festival from 2003 to 2013. Mits has been a faculty member with the Timmins Symphony Orchestra since 1992. He teaches bassoon, clarinet, oboe, saxophone and recorder with the Geoffrey James Lee School of Music. Mits has also been active as a chamber player in the TSO Chamber Ensemble. Mits’ vocal and choral experience includes singing with the Timmins All-Star Big Band’s TAB-B- Kats; Timmins Choral Society; Timmins Symphony Chorus; Timmins Concert Singers; Yuletide Singers; Take Two Theatre’s productions of Oliver!,The Sound of Music, A Christmas Carol, Linda Jenkin/Classical Dance Arts production of The Wizard of Oz and the TSO’s productions ofT hePirates of Penzance and Heart of Gold.
Brass
Joshua Wood, D.M.A.
Joshua Wood has studied, performed, and taught music throughout Canada and the United States. A native of London, Ontario, Joshua completed his Bachelor of Music (Hons. Performance) degree at Western University before pursuing graduate studies at the Eastman School of Music and the University of Cincinnati. He has performed with ensembles including the National Academy Orchestra, Richmond (IN) Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra London Canada, National Youth Orchestra, Reverb Brass, and Guelph and Stratford symphonies. He has lectured at several large musical conferences, including the 2015 International Horn Symposium in Los Angeles. He has taught extensively, including collegiate masterclass presentations in Canada and the U.S., and he is a former faculty member of the Kincardine Summer Music Festival. As a conductor, he has worked with the University of Cincinnati Wind Ensemble and Concert Orchestra, the London Community Orchestra, members of the Western Symphony, CCM Chamber Winds, and the London Youth Orchestra, as well as several secondary school ensembles in the U.S.
String Ensemble
Angela Garwood-Touw
Angela launched her professional career in 2008 when she accepted the position of concertmaster for the Timmins Symphony Orchestra. Alongside her duties with the TSO, she tours the North as a regular first violinist with the North Bay and Sudbury Symphonies and more recently, l’Ensemble Aiguebelle and l’Orchestre Symphonique Régional D’Abitibi-Témiscamingue. Angela has been the featured soloist with the TSO twice, most recently receiving accolades for her performance of DeBeriot’s Scene de Ballet in May, 2015. She is also deeply involved in the chamber music scene, performing alongside very skilled colleagues. Angela has been known to step outside her comfort zone from time to time to fiddle, play pop music and jazz with pianist Steve Kessler. Angela’s passion for the violin began modestly, learning in a school group string program in her hometown of Saint John, NB. After only a few years of playing, she became concertmaster of the District Orchestra, first violin with the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra, Symphony New Brunswick and began teaching students of her own. With the encouragement of her teacher, Robert McCausland, she went on to obtain her BMus from Memorial University’s School of Music. Newfoundland afforded Angela many opportunities to perform, observe and learn from some exceptional musicians. Among a list of outstanding teachers, she studied violin with Dr. Nancy Dahn, of the world renowned Duo Concertante and also had the chance to attend masterclasses with Shauna Rolston and Pinchas Zuckerman. Angela played first violin with the MUN Chamber Orchestra, led the NSYO as concertmaster for a time and regularly performed with the NSO and NSO Sinfonia which gave her the chance to perform with Bobby McFerrin, Mark O’Connor, the Ennis Sisters and pianist Andre LaPlante just to name to a few. A passion for playing and a desire to share her knowledge inspired Angela to form the TSO Youth Orchestra (formerly the Junior Orchestra). Since 2008, the group has performed regularly at the music school’s bi-annual concerts and later, the Porcupine Music Festival and continues to grow. It is a wonderful way for violin students to be introduced to ensemble playing, make friends and learn from each other. Angela is excited to be performing on a commissioned 2013 Daryl Griffith violin.
Associate Teachers
Voice
Aileen Roy
Aileen grew up in Timmins, singing at her church where she met and began studying voice with Rosanne Simunovic. This started her long career of singing with the Timmins Youth Singers, now the Timmins Concert Singers.. She participated in the Porcupine Music Festival in Timmins and the Kiwanis Music Festival in Sudbury. While in the music program at Laurentian University, she studied voice with both Robert Hal and Marion Harvey Hannah. Aileen had the honour of representing Northern Ontario twice when she was selected to be a member of the Ontario Youth Choir.
After studying for her Bachelor of Education at Queen's University.. she began her career as an elementary music teacher. She directs choirs of different age groups, performing in the Porcupine Music Festival and in a number of concerts with the TSO.
She has performed with the TS0 as the lead. Mabel, in the Pirates of Penzance as well as having a role in the Timmins' musical production of Heart of Gold. With the TSO she has sung as the soprano soloist in Handel's Messiah as well as other concerts. She also performs with the TS0 Chamber Ensemble and the TSO Chorus.
Our Concert Band is Now in Session!
The Geoffrey James Lee School of Music offers a concert band program. The program is open to anyone who wants to pick up that high school instrument and return to the joys of playing music with others. Don’t have an instrument? No worries, the TSO has rental options that make it easy for you to join us in music making.
The group meets every Saturday at 11am at St. Matthew’s Cathedral (331 Fifth Avenue, Timmins).
We are looking for new players!
For more information please contact:
Call us at 705-267-1006 (leave a message and we will get back to you.)
