Music Lessons tells the story of the Sistema Orchestra and its after-school music program focusing on a group of at-risk kids from the Jane and Finch area of Toronto, who commit to spending 10 hours a week learning how to play instruments in an orchestra. The film chronicles the children's yearlong journey from the first day they lay their hands on their brand new instruments through the cacophonous and laborious hours of learning the basics to a standing ovation for their performance at the famous Glenn Gould Auditorium. The film is about the power of music and how it can affect us as individuals and as communities.