Meet our board members
We are a registered charity in Kingston, Ontario founded by musician, Wally High, in memory of his friend and band member, the late Joe Chithalen, who was a talented bass player in several well-known Kingston bands. Joe’s M.I.L.L. operates in tribute to Joe’s love of music, so that anyone who wants to can enjoy playing music as much as he did.
Our Community Impact
Sistema Kingston
In 2015, we partnered with Queen’s University and the Limestone District School Board, to launch Sistema Kingston, an intensive after school music program for at-risk children that focuses on positive social change through the pursuit of musical excellence.
Through free, group centred music instruction, Sistema Kingston emphasizes inclusivity and teamwork, builds personal persistence, and fosters creativity and personal responsibility in all of its activities. The current site is at Molly Brant Elementary School and the fall of 2021 Sistema Kingston expanded to the Algonquin & Lakeshore Catholic District School Board currently at
St. Thomas More Catholic School.
Workshop Concerts
Our concert workshops are unique and very well-received. Where else can you hear a world-class performer who actually “teaches” the audience!
Access to Music
In the 2018-2019 school year, Joe’s M.I.L.L. processed 185 tuition-related loans to students in music programs in the Limestone District School Board and to students taking private lessons across Kingston.
The M.I.L.L. also supplied instruments to 75 students with an additional 76 instruments to children in other schools and private lessons who did not have the resources to purchase or rent an instrument. This free program supplied an aggregate of 1,300 months of instrument use and represented over $37,000.00 in equivalent rental costs. Check out “How Playing an Instrument Benefits Your Brain”