Our Team
Leading the Way
Michelle Ravitsky - Soprano
Interim Executive Director
Raised bilingual in Russian and English as a first-generation American, soprano Michelle Ravitsky is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music and Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where she was awarded the Pi Kappa Lambda Prize for musicianship. She has sung with opera companies such as the Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera, and OPERA San Antonio. Operatic highlights include Papagena in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Morgana in Handel’s Alcina, Musetta in Puccini’s La Bohème, and Monica in Menotti’s The Medium, Flora in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, and Barbarina in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro.
Alongside performing, Michelle is a passionate arts administrator, with hopes of creating a more welcoming and inclusive landscape for all artists. She has worked with organizations such as Oberlin Conservatory Admissions, OPERA America, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, and was a co-founder for the Padanaram Chamber Music Festival. Michelle is so excited to continue her work with LYNX Project in the role of interim Executive Director.
Florence Mak - Pianist
Artistic Director, founding member
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, collaborator, chamber, orchestral musician, and page turner. She made her debut as the featured soloist with the New Westminster Symphony at the age of ten and when the time came, she left Vancouver and moved to Toronto to further her musical studies.
Knowing that she would never have the vocal range of a bass-baritone or be able to circular breathe, Florence decided to live vicariously through others by way of musical collaborations. Recent highlights include bringing the Hundred Acre Woods to life in the Hudson Valley, tickling the ivories at National Sawdust, and strumming the keys at Casa di Riposo per Musicisti across the pond in Milan. She has worked alongside composers including Pulitzer Prize winner John Luther Adams, Christos Hatzis, Jake Heggie, and Libby Larsen. Her love of making music with others has led her to the Banff Centre as well as Si parla, si canta as a faculty pianist.
Florence received her doctorate in Piano Accompanying and Chamber Music from the Eastman School of Music and her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in Piano Performance at the University of Toronto. She recently held positions as a Collaborative Pianist at Bard College Conservatory of Music and as the Coordinator of Collaborative Piano at Ohio University.
Olivia Doig - Soprano
Educational Coordinator
Chicago-born soprano Olivia Doig performs a range of art song, opera, and musical theater repertoire with companies across the Midwest, including recent performances with Ohio Light Opera, Haymarket Opera, Music Theater Works, and Florentine Opera. Olivia holds degrees from Wheaton College and Florida State University and is currently a doctoral student at the University of Illinois. Alongside performing, Olivia shares her love for musical storytelling through teaching. This includes teaching voice lessons as a guest lecturer at Wheaton College and as a graduate assistant at Florida State University, in addition to teaching and music directing a variety of youth musical theater productions. In the fall of 2019, she helped develop and pilot Lynx Project’s cross-genre educational program Composition of a City, which teaches youth about the role of poetry in classical art song and hip-hop rap and aids them in writing their own music and poetry by combining elements of these two genres.
Aasha Francis - Hip Hop Artist
Educational Coordinator
Aasha Marie is a Chicago singer, rapper, and poet who creates socially conscious, Christian inspired music in hopes of bringing spiritual transformation to cultures and communities that are in need. She is talented on all fronts, often bringing bold, hip hop inspired flows that show her unparalleled lyrical skills. Aasha knows it takes more than mere conviction to spread her message which is why she’s performed at events and festivals in and outside of Chicago. These include the MJ Charity Event opening for Wale, Silento, and Mishon at the Genesis Convention Center in Indiana, the Woodlawn 5k Dash & Food Truck Festival, and So Far Sounds. Not only has Aasha hit the stage, she was a Kingdom Choice Awards Nominee for Female Rap Minister in Brooklyn in both 2016 and 2019.
The 14 track project, WYWS is a picture-perfect display of the essence of Aasha as a performer and human being. There are sultry, poetic musings, fluid rhyming, uplifting singing, and an overall message that Aasha can do it all on the music front. She’s not afraid to share her vulnerabilities, intimate details of her life, and experiences that may have once been negative, but turned into blessings. Music lovers around the world relate and connect to her music indicated by the album’s 50K + streams on Spotify.
While her success continues to grow, Aasha never strays from her mission to bring positive change to her city.
Aaron Gholar - Hip Hop Artist
Educational Coordinator
Aaron Gholar is a multi-faceted recording artist, producer, and songwriter who was raised in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago, IL. However, on a leap of faith, he packed his bags and left home for sunny California. His transition from Englewood to Hollywood quickly proved to be the right move. Aaron began working with artists like Brook Valentine, Melanie Fiona, The Game, Chris Brown, and most notably, Young Money. He produced tracks for Young Money CEO Lil Wayne, and Young Money artists Christina Milian & Lil Twist. His work on Christina Milian’s upcoming EP, including her single “Rebel” and “Popular” featuring myself, led me to become part of the E! reality show Christina Milian Turned Up.
Aaron learned very early in life that music was his calling. The son of a pastor, he was surrounded by music in the church. He was also fortunate enough to be the son of two singers who encouraged him to learn the art of musicianship. He began his career in music playing the drums and the piano for his father’s church.
Aaron’s transition away from home and into college solidified his desire to be a musical artist. He began writing lyrics and crafting his own custom beats. Pushing his music around his local campus and with the release of his mixtape, Innovation, with fan favorites like “Eat It” and “Mizz Twerk Sum”, he became a topic of discussion around Illinois campuses. After touring the Illinois college circuit, he decided to change his educational path. He retired from college and found a new form of study in music.
In a few short years, Aaron has reached great heights and he continues to create amazing and diverse music. Currently, he is working on a new project that explores his roots in soul music, his passion for R&B, and his love of hip-hop. His strong desire to push himself has led him to begin new avenues in EDM and explore his talents as a singer.
Quinn Middleman - Mezzo-soprano,
Social Media Coordinator
Praised for her “fine, warm mezzo-soprano voice,” Quinn Middleman is forging a careerpath dominated by her musicality, passion, and attention to detail. In 2019-2020, she was aResident Artist at Utah Opera and an Apprentice Artist at the virtual Des Moines MetroOpera festival, and she made her debut with the Utah Symphony in Handel’s Messiah andother concerts. Other recent company debuts include Chautauqua Opera, Chicago OperaTheater, St. Petersburg Opera, Central City Opera, and Haymarket Opera. Quinn is an avidrecitalist and passionate about art song, and has appeared with Tanglewood Music Centerand SongFest. This summer, she participated in the virtual RISE recital festival with CrestedButte Music Festival, workshopping her upcoming multimedia recital Abandon. In her sparetime, she enjoys knitting and fostering kittens.