The TOPOS Music Festival returns to Rensselaer from Aug. 28-30 with commissioned world premieres and rare productions set to take place.
The festival will take place at the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
The TOPOS Music Festival celebrates musical experimentalism for listening, exploration and discovery. Inviting a wide range of genres from country to house to chamber music to noise, the festival will feature world premieres of commissioned projects. The festival is set to host seven events over the course of three days.
Starting out the festival on Thursday, Aug. 28 is the world premiere of Lazyhorse by Raven Chacon. The production channels the raw energy and aggression of metal and thrash bands with hints of haunted country and folk sounds.
Later that night, King Britt presents Liberation Meditations: A Call which is a 39-speaker soundscape drawing from historic speeches, interviews and fragments of collective memory.
On Friday, Aug. 29, the night begins with The Rose Dialogues & Interludes by Sarah Davachi. The performance is scored for two violas, cello, organ and electronics, going through an oceanic world of harmonies, haunting melodies and formal surprises.
Closing out the second night is Persépolis (1971) by Iannis Xenakis, realized by Micah Silver. The new production will be a spectacle of sound and light. Starting at sunset the show includes two lasers, military searchlights, huge bonfires and 150 torch-bearing children.
On Saturday, Aug. 30, the afternoon will have a festival barbecue before a film screening about Iannis Xenakis. Xenakis Portrait 1971-72 sheds light on Persépolis (1971) and the strange context the work was born. The afternoon will close out with a final performance of Persépolis (1971).
For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.
2025 TOPOS Music Festival Lineup
Thursday, Aug. 28
Lazyhorse — 7 p.m. — Gasholder House, 113 Jefferson St, Troy — No festival pass needed
King Britt presents Liberation Meditations: A Call — 9 p.m. — EMPAC Studio 1
Friday, Aug. 29
The Rose Dialogues & Interludes — 6 p.m. preshow — 7 p.m. concert — EMPAC Concert Hall
Persépolis (1971) — 9 p.m. — EMPAC Studio 1
Saturday, Aug. 30
Festival Barbecue — Noon — EMPAC East Entrance (campus-side) — No festival pass needed
Xenakis Portrait 1971-72 — 1:30 p.m. — EMPAC Theater — No festival pass needed
Persépolis (1971) — 3 p.m. — EMPAC Studio 1
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