Artist Spotlight
Chromic Duo and NY Philharmonic’s Team Up For Augmented Reality Concert Experience in NYC
Chromic Duo – Lucy Yao and Dorothy Chan – are teaming up with the New York Philharmonic Very Young Composers Program for a project entitled “Emerald Futures” where they will combine the performance of the original compositions from the young composers (ages 12-16) with an augmented reality sound walk through New York City. The augmented reality experience will be available to anyone who would like to participate via the app Gesso (available on iOS and Android) starting on July 2nd.
An innovative way to experience music and storytelling, the walk will give listeners a multi-sensory experience as they experience the freedom of exploring the city while immersed in the sounds of original compositions. The scripted audio sound walk will lead listeners on a path through the city from New York’s Central Park to the Lincoln Center using a GPS trigger to create site-specific concert experiences, accessible to the participant at any time.
The experience culminates with Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya’s “We Belong Here” mural as a moment of reflection and response to ending AAPI hate. Phingbodhipakkiya created the “We Belong Here” campaign to confront the surge in bias and xenophobia against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders – a cause that Yao and Chan are also supporting in their forthcoming work with Mott Street Girls to support local Chinatown businesses that have been impacted by the rise of AAPI crime. “In the wake of exclusion, noticing how much oppression there is in our world right now, we want to create a hybrid experience to experience concerts in public spaces that is the epitome of accessibility and inclusion,” says the duo. “We are motivated to create spaces where stories can be told to foster a deeper understanding of humanizing perspectives.” Through their own self-discovery as first and second-generation Asian Americans, Chromic Duo understands how expansive the diaspora is and how it fails to describe who they truly are. “By having so much that is undefined, part of the beauty behind this project is to create moments where there is a grey area- where sound is met with a strike of lightning in color, where the history of NYC is reflected on through a contemporary narrative of music by the next generation of young composers and thinkers,” says Yao.
Overall, Chromic Duo hopes that this reflective music and narration will allow participants to immerse themselves in an experience that brings to light the stories and perspectives of people and communities around them so that they can be inspired to respond based on empathy instead of biased judgment. “We also hope to inspire the young composers of this program to lean into their curiosities, and always be questioning and challenging the norms of how things came to be,” says Lucy Yao. “We often ask ourselves, ‘how can we use music as a positive force and tool to bring people together?’ Music has the power to take your perceived biases and understanding of the world and challenge them.” By bringing a new perspective on how participants perceive their environment and connect themselves within their communities, they are excited to see how it can interact with music to create innovative ways of “going through the motions” in an amplified manner that allows for new connections to happen.
About New York Philharmonic Very Young Composers Program:
An afterschool program through the School Partnership Program for grades 7-10, the Very Young Composer’s Program exposes students to the instruments of the orchestra, nurtures their inherent creativity, and culminates with original works performed by members of the Philharmonic. Students with or without musical backgrounds create, notate, and hear their very own music performed by Philharmonic musicians — often the full Orchestra — with the help of Philharmonic Teaching Artists serving as mentors. The VYC idea is rapidly catching on as it has reached children on four continents in countries including Korea, China, Japan, Venezuela, Spain, and Finland. VYC students in various American cities are exchanging “musical postcards” with these children around the world.
About Chromic Duo: Chromic Duo is an award-winning electronic toy piano duo that brings new audiences together by creating new connections between classical music, electronics, and multimedia. “Tackling large issues with toy pianos” – Chromic pushes the possibilities of genres and performance by recontextualizing classical music in multimedia work inspired by the multitudes as third-culture-kids discovering their voice within the vast Asian American diaspora. The duo composes and reorchestrates indie, classical, ambient, and electronica into arrangements that use any combination of keyboard instruments – ranging from the toy piano to melodica, toy horn, audio-reactive installations, and instruments that link sound to color and movement. Widely known as creatives in other aspects as well, Chromic Duo has projects ranging from collaborations with the New York Philharmonic Young Composers Program, the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts Educational Initiative, working in collaboration with the Design Museum of Chicago for two world premiere pieces during the pandemic, and other virtual experience collaborations that bring light to Asian-American identities and racial power structures. They were recently announced as the winners of Concert Artist Guild and Young Concert Artists Trust – opening doors for prestigious debuts at famous international venues like Carnegie and Wigmore.
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Connect with Chromic Duo:
More information on the New York Philharmonic Very Young Composer’s Program:
Artist Spotlight
bAnI kAI Explores Identity and Resilience on “bAnIverse”
With “bAnIverse,” bAnI kAI confidently enters a sound world where cutting-edge sound design meets deep emotional storytelling. The song mixes R&B and hip-hop sounds and talks about identity, selfhood, and resilience in a world that is becoming more digital.
From the very beginning, “bAnIverse” draws you in. The production is sleek and modern, with atmospheric textures that give the impression of movement and depth. There is a digital pulse under the track, but it never takes away from the emotional core. Instead, it makes the feeling of being between two worlds, real and virtualstronger.
bAnI kAI’s singing is both controlled and expressive, finding the right balance between being open and being sure of himself. It seems like he put every word in the right place on purpose to show how the song talks about his internal struggles and self-awareness. The lyrics of “bAnIverse” make people think about how identity is formed, tested, and changed in today’s world.
The song’s structure is fluid because it mixes R&B melodies with hip-hop beats, which lets it change moods easily. This flexibility is similar to the song’s themes, which support the idea that identity is not set in stone but always changing.
The emotional honesty of “bAnIverse” is what makes it so interesting. The song sounds futuristic, but it feels very human. It recognizes uncertainty while still showing strength, which gives a sense of power instead of confusion.
“bAnIverse” shows that bAnI kAI is an artist who isn’t afraid to use sound to explore complicated ideas. It’s a deep, thought-provoking song that gets better the more you listen to it and speaks to anyone trying to figure out who they are in the digital age.
Artist Spotlight
Aldo J Turns Loss into Renewal on “Now That You’re Gone”
With “Now That You’re Gone,” Aldo J makes a deeply moving song that gently leads listeners through themes of loss, forgiveness, and personal growth. The song combines smooth jazz sounds with modern production to create a cozy and thoughtful mood that doesn’t try to be dramatic.
The song starts with a calm, soulful sound that sets the mood right away. The soft instruments and warm melodies make the listener feel like they are in a still place, which helps them fully take in the mood. Instead of rushing the story, Aldo J lets the song unfold naturally, which is like how healing can be slow and hard.
Aldo J’s voice is honest and restrained. His performance has a quiet strength that doesn’t rely on big gestures but instead shows through small emotions. His voice conveys a sense of comprehension, as if he is not merely narrating suffering but also recognizing the subsequent development.
The jazz influences give the song a timeless quality, and the modern parts keep it in the present. People who like thoughtful lyrics and soulful soundscapes will enjoy “Now That You’re Gone” because it has a mix of old and new sounds.
This single is special because it can resonate without being too much. It doesn’t ask for tears; it just gives you time to think. The song sounds like a quiet chat late at night, where people talk about their feelings honestly and without judgment.
“Now That You’re Gone” is about moving on and accepting what happened. Aldo J turns his own feelings into a shared experience, making a song that people can listen to whenever they need to relax, get clear, or feel better.
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