Chromatic Strings: A Recital by Kelvin Chang and Friends

Chromatic Strings: A Recital by Kelvin Chang and Friends

Chromatic Strings is a collaborative concept created by cellist Kelvin Chang and Jason Salt from Salty Robot Productions, combining Classical music performance with live laser abstracts. This recital is a celebration of Kelvin's return to the world of music, featuring a broad range of genres, from Baroque to dubstep. It will include duets with several other musicians who have contributed to the revival of Kelvin's musical career. Salty Robot Productions is a visual effects company that turns science and math into art and entertainment. This recital will be performed with live laser abstracts to visually enhance the music. Stay after the performance for a reception to talk, ask questions, and demo the laser light equipment and an electric 5-string cello.

About the artists:

Kelvin had originally intended to pursue a career in cello performance, but switched gears in college and opted to major in chemistry instead. He continued to study music, completed a music minor at Haverford College, and won the 2010 Bi-College Student Concerto Competition. Kelvin then pursued a PhD in chemistry at Northwestern University, which unfortunately offered little time to continue playing. After about a decade-long hiatus from the cello, Kelvin returned to playing, joined the Union Symphony Orchestra, and started taking lessons with Alan Black. Kelvin is excited to be on stage again after three years of his reboot in lessons and is especially looking forward to playing duets with Alan and other musicians that have contributed to his return to playing cello.

Being in love with laser his whole life, Jason has been providing immersive abstract laser art to the entertainment scene since 2007. His first show was at the IEEE annual banquet and featured a self-built single color laser projector and used function generators out of the college lab to perform live abstracts to music. Intrigued with how laser projectors work, Jason started building his own systems in his garage. In 2013 Jason build his first full color RGB system. This was also the first system that interfaced with control software providing recording capabilities. Using Mathematics and Science, Jason was able to transform a laser into an artistic display of abstract colors and patterns and sync it to music. Learning about various hardware and software platforms Jason decided to build a custom live performance console. The console features old school analog controls, as well as new school digital controls. What really sets his console apart are the two laser projector preview windows. Jason made his debut into the professional scene in 2017 by winning first place for abstract show, at the International Laser Display Association annual conference. He followed up the next year in 2018 by winning first place a second time for abstract show. With the power of the live console and the recognition of the community Jason formed Salty Robot Productions in 2018. Salty Robot Productions has been working out of the Charlotte NC area and has been able to provide laser FX for the Carolina Panthers and All Elite Wrestling. Live laser shows were performed with Western Piedmont Symphony in Newton NC, Yuri’s Night at Kennedy Space Center, Bach Akademie Charlotte and Mallarme Chamber Players. Salty Robot Productions partnered with local cellist Kelvin Chang to form Chromatic Strings in 2022, blending classical cello music with abstract laser entertainment.

The event is free but space is limited - please RSVP by ordering free tickets for your entire party. If your plans change, please "request a refund" to release your tickets.