Tim Lyles is a guitarist and instructor in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. He was born in the Delta country of Mississippi and came of age (with a transistor radio to his ear) in the Memphis, TN music scene. Surrounded by the sounds of blues, gospel, soul and funk music, Tim studied with a number of Memphis recording session men and musicians before attending Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA.

Upon returning to Tennessee, he completed his undergraduate studies in Music and Media at the University of Memphis. These studies included film and television production, orchestration and electronic music composition, and culminated in working with artist-in-residence Aaron Copland and visiting artists Gunther Schuller and electronic music pioneer Vladimir Ussachevsky.

After marrying a brilliant pianist, Tim and Patricia relocated to the Twin Cities and began freelance musical careers. Tim’s career includes a wide range of accomplishments in television production, recording studio session work, producing, arranging, engineering, studio management, and multi-instrumental live performance. Tim has toured nationally in a 14-piece horn band and shared the stage with Carole King, The Beach Boys, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Merle Haggard, Ann Margaret and many others.

For the last decade, Tim has been an instructor at McNally Smith College of Music— a private music college in downtown St. Paul, MN emphasizing popular music. He works with guitar majors and student ensembles, as well as involvement in the college’s outreach program. He also maintains a long-running contingent of private guitar students. Tim recently completed his master’s degree in Guitar Performance from McNally Smith.

Tim’s wife is a heralded pianist for a number of dance companies in the Twin Cities, including Minnesota Dance Theater, Zenon Dance Company and St. Paul City Ballet. Their two daughters form the tribal fusion dance duo, Gemini Tribe, and have been featured on MTV.