The Mather in Evanston
An Iris community since 2022, , The Mather is an award-winning LEED Gold-certified Life Plan Community for adults aged 62 and older, combining upscale urban senior living near Lake Michigan, Northwestern University, and downtown Chicago.
Meet the musicians
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.
Equally passionate about music education, Florence is the Artistic Director and a founding member of Lynx Project, a nonprofit art-song organization whose mission is to link communities with inclusive concerts and innovative educational programming. In 2017, LYNX launched their Amplify Series, dedicated to celebrating diverse voices through newly-commissioned songs.
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.
Clare Choi
Clare Choi is currently pursuing a MM in Cello Performance at Northwestern University under Hans Jensen. She recently graduated from Southern Methodist University, where she studied with Chris Adkins, Andres Diaz, and Aaron Boyd. Previously, she studied with Yao Zhao in San Diego.
As an active chamber musician, she has performed with the Marmen, Viano, and Isidore Quartets, and collaborated with musicians including Pierre Lapointe, Masumi Rostad, Edward Arron, and Sean Lee. She also performs with the Dallas Symphony as a substitute cellist, and most recently spent her summers as a fellow with the National Repertory Orchestra and Aspen Music Festival. In her free time, she enjoys thrifting vintage trinkets and exploring new teas!