Mr. Will Stokes received his Bachelor of Music from the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music, and his Bachelor of Education and Master of Education from Queen’s University’s Faculty of Education and School of Graduate Studies.

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Mr. Stokes has taught Instrumental Music, Voice, Musical Theatre, Guitar, Keyboard, and Jazz Studies during his career.  He taught at Markville Secondary School for 18 years, while also running an elementary school music programme at Unionville Public School for 14 of those years. As an elementary music teacher, Mr. Stokes created an outstanding music programme with award winning Grade 6, 7, and 8 Concert Bands, Jazz Bands, and Concert Choirs. As a high school music teacher, he is the conductor of the Bur Oak Senior Wind Ensemble, the Bur Oak Concert Band, and has been the music director for numerous Wind Ensembles, Jazz Bands, Musical Theatre Ensembles, and Concert Choirs during his tenure with YRDSB.

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Mr. Stokes’s award-winning ensembles have received the highest honours from local, regional, and provincial festivals. His work has also been recognized by the Ontario Music Festival’s Association, the Kiwanis Music Festival, and the Ontario Band Association for Excellence in Teaching and Conducting. He is an active performer and music director in York Region and the Greater Toronto Area.

A nominee of the Ontario Arts Council’s Leslie Bell Prize for Choral Conducting, Ms. Lee is a conductor, music educator and vocal pedagogue who established herself as a respected musical leader in the Toronto music scene.

 

As a passionate advocate for music education, Ms. Lee is committed to educating and inspiring young musicians. Since 2008, she has been employed as a full-time high school music teacher in York Region District School Board and has taught at Bur Oak Music Department since 2014. At Bur Oak, she teaches vocal, piano accompanying and keyboard courses and directs the junior concert choir, senior chamber choir and an audition-based jazz vocal ensemble.  Her choral and wind ensembles under her leadership regularly perform and receive recognition at festivals in Canada, United States, and Europe.

 

As a choral specialist, Ms. Lee has worked with the complete spectrum of voices, from children and youth choirs, through university and community choirs, to professional choirs both in Canada and the United States. She served as Associate Conductor of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir for three seasons where she conducted season concerts and prepared the ensemble for regular appearances with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.  Ms. Lee currently serves as the Artistic Director of Chorus York, Yemel Philharmonic Society of Toronto, and as the Music Director of the Toronto Young-Nak Presbyterian Church.

 

Ms. Lee holds a Master of Music degree in Conducting from the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, where she also completed graduate vocal pedagogy studies. Ms. Lee holds Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Education degrees from the University of Western Ontario, London, with additional studies at the University of Toronto. Other professional training includes the Norfolk Chamber Festival, Yale School of Music, Eastman Advanced Conducting Institute, CCM Opera Bootcamp, and international orchestral and opera conducting festivals and competitions.