The Chalice Symphony: MIT Sonic Inventor Crafts Ingenious Music Instruments Out of Stella Artois Chalices for Cold War Kids Performance

NEW YORK, Feb. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Stella Artois, the world's best-selling Belgian beer, today introduced the Chalice Symphony, a collaboration between Stella Artois, MIT sonic inventor Andy Cavatorta and indie rock band Cold War Kids. Over the past year, Cavatorta has passionately pored over hundreds of the iconic Stella Artois Chalices to craft four fully-functional music instruments inspired by elements of the iconic glassware: the Hive, the Pyrophone, the Star Harp and the Violina. For a limited time, the instruments are on display in a gallery setting on Manhattan's Lower East Side.

Incorporating the unique sounds from these instruments, renowned band Cold War Kids has written a new song, "A Million Eyes," a soulful ballad performed using the Chalice Symphony instruments.

"All things beautiful require effort, determination and a dedication to artistry. And with the Chalice Symphony, we set out to highlight these principles showing that the Chalice is not only beautiful design, but can sound beautiful as well," said Debora Koyama, Vice President, Stella Artois. "This effort to create something so beautiful sounding results from a collaboration that has been a year in the making. We worked with master craftsman, Andy Cavatorta, to create these orchestral instruments and Cold War Kids were the exact type of inventive musicians we needed to bring these instruments to life."

Andy Cavatorta is a New York-based designer and inventor focusing largely on interactive design, robotics and film. He is a graduate of the MIT Media Lab and recently spent a year collaborating with Bjork. For Stella Artois, he designed instruments that emphasize four discrete elements of the Stella Artois Chalice. These include:

• The Hive takes its name from the instrument's unique shape and sound, resembling a soft xylophone.
• The Pyrophone adds depth to the symphony with a deep whistling sound, like a boat horn.
• The Star Harp uses robotics to play a harp-like sound using strings and the Stella Artois Chalice. "Stella" means "star" in Latin.
• The Violina leverages a higher-pitched string sound, resembling a violin for the symphony.

The Chalice Symphony is a global campaign for Stella Artois debuting in more than 35 markets worldwide. Content and videos detailing the development of the Chalice Symphony instruments, interviews with Cold War Kids and Andy Cavatorta, images and more information can be found at StellaArtois.com.

About Stella Artois

Stella Artois® is part of a Belgian brewing tradition dating back to 1366. It is the No. 1 Belgian beer in the world and is present in over 80 countries. Stella Artois® is a bottom filtered, blonde pilsner. It is thirst quenching with a malty middle and crisp finish delivering a full flavor and a hint of bitterness. Stella Artois® is best enjoyed served between 3 and 5 degree Celsius and should be served in the unique Stella Artois® Chalice according to the 9-Step Pouring Ritual to guarantee a perfect experience of this gold standard lager.  Visit www.stellaartois.com for more information.

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SOURCE Stella Artois