“Readers, I promise you, when you check out this documentary by the Lynx Project (vimeo.com/249943807), tears will come to your eyes. In disbelief, I watched it over and over again, riveted by the prowess of these nonverbal songwriters with autism who expressed so much within by simply tapping the letters of songs they authored themselves. Their words, complemented with the sonorous operatic voices, pulled at my heart, while my daughter, Soanirina (aka Soa) miraculously also sat still…”"

WEST CHESTER TWP. — Lakota West graduate Megan McGill Moore and her nonprofit Lynx Project are partnering with a current Lakota student to raise awareness for autism.

Moore is working to bring two special performances to the Cincinnati area in 2017 — a sensory-friendly concert tailored to families who have children with autism and another for the general public.

“Lynx Project, an art song initiative, is thrilled to announce their 2017 Autism Advocacy Project. A team of five composers, Joel David Balzun, Emily Cooley, Juliana Hall, Aristéa Mellos, and Travis Reynolds, will set the words of four young men to music. What makes this collaboration unique is that these writers, between ages 12-17, have autism and are primarily non-verbal.”

“When I’ve asked singers in the past about the difference between singing in an opera and singing a recital, the most common answer I get is that recitals are terrifying.

Of course, it has to do with having no “stage aids” like sets, costumes, far distances, etc. In recital, it’s just a singer and his or her voice. It has a lot to do with the repertoire, too. “