Glass act: Stella Chalice Symphony plays crafty

The Chalice Symphony was created with musical craftsman Andy Cavatorta, who refashioned the chalices – filing them down or cutting them in half – to be incorporated into the design of four novel musical installations.

One of the instruments, the Violina, features a circular bow mounted on a horizontal wheel that holds several chalices. When the wheel turns, the chalices hum. The Pyrophone uses flames to emit a sound in the chalices, while the Hive uses tiny hammers to tap notes from glasses that have been filed down to different sizes. The Starharp draws inspiration from celestial bodies. The stems of the glass are placed on the end of clockwork arms that periodically strike against strings.

The project has been billed as an exploration of craft, which feeds in well to the air of quality that the brand is trying to communicate with the design of the chalice itself. For more on how food and drink are intersecting with craft, read our Portfolio piece on Jacopo Sarzi.