Veena Akama-Makia

Cameroonian/Ugandan-American mezzo-soprano Veena Akama-Makia will join Chicago Opera Theater as a Young Artist for the 2022-2023 season. This summer, she was in San Francisco Opera’s Merola Young Artist Program, where she performed the role of Dritte Dame in Die Zauberflöte and was a soloist in the Merola Grand Finale. In the Spring of 2022, she made her COT debut as Tawny Betty in the World Premiere of Quamino’s Map (Wallen/Brevoort) and the role of Tree Spirit in The BeeKeeper (Lu/Rourke) as part of COT’s Vanguard Initiative and has also covered the role of Mercedes in performances of Carmen (Bizet) and the role of Ib in Becoming Santa Claus (Adamo) with the company. Ms. Akama-Makia has been honored with several awards, most recently being a 2021 Encouragement Award Winner from the 2021 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Illinois District, Semi-finalist in the 2022 Irene Dalis Vocal Competition and Tier I Semi-finalist in the James Toland Vocal Competition, and received 2nd place in the 2022 Musicians Club of Women Vocal Competition.

Samuel James Dewese

A Chicago native, baritone Samuel James Dewese is forging a unique path as an evocative artist worldwide. Traditional operatic highlights include Sam/Trouble in Tahiti, Father/Hansel and Gretel, and Astrophel/The Arcadians, and Marcello/La Bohème. In concert, Samuel has been a soloist alongside Portsmouth Festival Orchestra at Portsmouth Cathedral (UK), Highgate Choral Society, and the Illinois Wind Symphony. Passionate about new works, Samuel has premiered operas including The Perfect Opera (Edinburgh Fringe), Would You Eat Me? (Thompson Street Opera Company), and the title characters in John Henry (Tête à Tête, London) and La Jetée (Chicago Fringe Opera). Samuel is a graduate of the Royal College of Music, London and the Florentine Opera apprentice program, and has been honored in competition by James Toland Vocal Arts, the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, the Hariclea Darclée Competition, and the Luminarts Foundation.

Pauline Tan

Pauline Tan is a Filipino-Chinese contralto whose deep love for poetry and song has taken her across the globe to pursue a career in music. She strives not only to communicate honestly with her audiences but also to help bridge connections to little-known musical worlds. A recent graduate of the Bard Vocal Arts Program, Pauline hopes to keep working with artists and organizations that share her vision of bringing more diversity and compassion in the arts. She is currently with Chicago Opera Theater as a Resident Young Artist, following her artistic compass and taking part in non-standard adaptations of familiar operas as well as premieres of new works by living BIPOC creators.

Kimberly Jeong

As an active recitalist and chamber musician, cellist Kimberly Jeong has given numerous performances in venues across the United States, Canada, and Europe, broadcasted on Brava TV, CBC Radio, and BBC, and heard on recording projects with Chandos and Linn Records.

Jeong has taught in several educational institutions including Yale Music in Schools Initiative and Ravinia’s Reach Teach Play Program. With interests in the interdisciplinary arts and communicating with new audiences, she has given performances in special conjunction with exhibitions at the Yale University Art Gallery, the Yale Center for British Art, and the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, New York.

Jeong holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music, Yale School of Music, and the Royal Conservatory of the Hague. Currently, she is a doctoral candidate at Northwestern University under the guidance of Hans Jørgen Jensen with cognate degrees in Music Theory and Musicology. In addition, she is an Instructor and Chamber Music Coach at Washington University in St. Louis.

Florence Mak

Born and raised in Canada, Florence Mak quickly realized that she would not be able to fulfill her dream as an All-Star hockey player in the NHL, given that she has never put on a pair of hockey skates. As a result, she turned her focus to piano and has since appeared on stage throughout North America and Europe as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician, and page turner.

Without having the vocal range of a bass-baritone or ability to circular breathe, Florence decided to live vicariously through others by way of musical collaboration. As a result, Florence received her doctorate in Piano Accompanying and Chamber Music from the Eastman School of Music. She recently held positions as a Collaborative Pianist at Bard College Conservatory of Music and as the Coordinator of Collaborative Piano at Ohio University. In work and in life, she is an avid punster and a certified Rick-Roll enthusiast.

Michael Tran

Clarinetist Michael Tran is a soloist, orchestral musician, and educator in Chicago. His engagements have taken him to Carnegie Hall, Chicago’s Symphony Center, and recital halls across the United States. He recently performed on the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series broadcasted on WFMT, Chicago’s Classical Music station. Michael is in demand as an orchestral musician having performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Sinfonietta, Peninsula Music Festival Orchestra, and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.

A dynamic chamber musician, Michael has collaborated with members of the International Contemporary Ensemble and the 5th Wave Collective. As an educator, Michael has taught for the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and given masterclasses across the country. He holds a Master of Music degree from DePaul University and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Florida. His primary teachers are Stephen Williamson, Julie DeRoche, Jackie Glazier, and Mitchell Estrin.

Hailey Cohen
(Rush Hour Concert)

Chicago-based mezzo-soprano, Hailey Cohen, is a recent graduate of the University of Michigan School of Music, Theater, and Dance receiving her Master's in Vocal Performance. In 2023 Hailey joins Cedar Rapids Opera as a Smith Resident Artist where she will perform the roles of Hattie in their production of American Gothical and Logan in Charlie and the Wolf. Additional role highlights include K. in Would You Eat Me?, Sally in The Boy Who Wanted to be a Robot both with Thompson Street Opera, Ember and Asintmah(cover) in Future Perfect with Bellissima Opera, Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel with Vienna Summer Music Festival, Orfeo in Orfeo ed Euridice, and Littler Daughter in Proving Up with the University of Michigan Opera. As an advocate for new opera and art song, she received the Eileen Weiser EXCEL Award to commission Jerrell R. Gray’s song cycle Human Nature in 2020.

Nicholas Ward
(Rush Hour Concert)

Baritone Nicholas Ward is thrilled to be returning to sing with LYNX after most recently appearing on their debut album, beautiful small things. He first performed with LYNX in the early spring of 2020 for the Chicago Premiere of the Amplify Series. He has performed in opera across the country with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opera Birmingham, Chicago Opera Theater, Union Avenue Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Opera in the Heights, and many more. Recent concert and recital highlights include CCPA’s PianoFest, Opera Birmingham’s Catch a Rising Star series, the Saugatuck Center for the Arts, and the Steinway Gallery in Miami. He is a three-time Regional Finalist of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and the First Place Winner of the Opera Birmingham Competition. He received his degrees from the University of Michigan and the University of Cincinnati-CCM. He grew up in Pontiac, Michigan, and currently resides in Chicago.

Daniel Baer

Pianist:

Amplify Series Commissions 2020-21

Amplify Album

Quinn Middleman

Mezzo-soprano:

Amplify Album

Emily Diehl Dorian

Soprano:

Amplify Album