Chromic Duo

The 2022 Grand Prize winners at the Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) and Concert

Artists Guild (CAG) Victor Elmaleh Competition, Chromic Duo – artists Lucy Yao and

Dorothy Chan – blends classical music, toy piano, and electronics into genre-fluid

performances and installations. Inspired by the small wonders of the everyday, they

compose sound worlds inspired by the multitudes as Third-Culture Kids discovering their

voices within the vast Asian-American diaspora.

The Duo’s work is intended to look at the smallest objects of the everyday in order to

uncover truths and reimagine how we connect with each other. It often blurs the lines

between film, virtual reality, and augmented reality, but the heart of the ensemble’s

work remains constant: to create an intimacy and sense of wonder in its music that

unravels the story of self-discovery and passion, connecting the dots between grief and

joy, belonging and displacement, and creating community in boundary-pushing

performances and web-based experiences.

Recent highlights include a sold-out performance on the New York Philharmonic’s 

Kravis Nightcap Series, partnering with Welcome to Chinatown to feature AAPI business

owners and artists in an immersive soundwalk in New York City’s Chinatown, working

with the New York Philharmonic’s Very Young Composers program to create a

soundwalk through Central Park, and partnering with the Smithsonian Institute as part of

the National Museum of Asian Art’s 100th Anniversary celebration.

Over two seasons, the Duo acted as Innovators-in-Residence at Purdue University and 

collaborated with the Purdue team to develop and launch the StairWELL project, an

interactive sculpture installation that explored the intersection of art, tech, and wellness. 

The 2023-24 season featured a residency at Texas A&M University in College Station, TX, 

a debut performance for the Celebrity Series in Boston, and a collaboration with Vision 

Duo for “Musicians on the Rise,” a co-presentation between CAG and Kaufman Music 

Center in Merkin Hall.