From August 28–30, Troy, NY will hold the 2025 TOPOS Music Festival, a program of experimental music presented by EMPAC at the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center at RPI.
Topos comes from the Greek word for “place” and the Latin word for “a space, locality, position.” The festival focuses on listening, exploration, and discovery, with performances that push sound in new directions.
The lineup spans country, house, chamber music, and noise. Raven Chacon and Sarah Davachi debut new commissioned works. King Britt joins Suzi Analogue and Myles Ortiz-Green for a collaborative set. Sound artist Micah Silver reimagines Iannis Xenakis’s Persépolis in two rare performances. The schedule also includes a screening of Xenakis: Portrait 1971–72 and a public barbecue on the last day.
EMPAC sits on the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute campus and merges art, science, and technology under one roof. Since 2008, it has hosted artists and researchers in four high-tech venues designed for ambitious sound and performance work. Many projects premiere here before moving to larger stages.
Schedule
Find more info and passes on the EMPAC website.
Thursday, August 28
7:00 PM – Lazyhorse / Raven Chacon, Miriam Elhajli, Steve Hammond, Mali Obomsawin, The Living Earth Show – Gasholder House, 113 Jefferson St., Troy (Free)
9:00 PM – King Britt presents Liberation Meditations: A Call with Suzi Analogue and Myles Ortiz-Green – EMPAC Studio 1—Goodman
Friday, August 29
6:00 PM – In Conversation: Sarah Davachi & Amadeus Julian Regucera – EMPAC Concert Hall
7:00 PM – The Rose Dialogues & Interludes / Sarah Davachi – EMPAC Concert Hall
9:00 PM – Persépolis (1971) / Iannis Xenakis, realized by Micah Silver – EMPAC Studio 1—Goodman
Saturday, August 30
12:00 PM – Festival BBQ – EMPAC East Entrance
1:30 PM – Xenakis Portrait 1971–72 / Dir. Pierre Andrégui – EMPAC Theater (Free)
3:00 PM – Persépolis (1971) / Iannis Xenakis, realized by Micah Silver – EMPAC Studio 1—Goodman
Get all your music festival news here on NYS Music.
Listen to a compilation of artists who performed at the EMPAC
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