This summer, the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) will present a special season of programming to coincide with Rensselaer’s inaugural Summer Arch semester. In addition to the production residencies and research projects that are regularly conducted at the center throughout the summer, the season will be punctuated by a number of concerts, film screenings, theater performances, and workshops.
Things kick off on May 26 with electronic musician Elysia Crampton, who will perform in EMPAC Studio 1. Crampton’s music is celebrated for its experimental sonic palette, queer identity, and embrace of South American spirituality.
From May 31 to June 4, the Albany Symphony Orchestra takes over EMPAC for its annual American Music Festival, highlighting new works by living American composers. Summer Arch students are invited to attend the Saturday, June 3, marquee concert free of charge. Tickets can be picked up at the EMPAC box office.
From July 10-14, EMPAC partners with the Harvard University Studio for Electroacoustic Composition and the Paris-based Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM) for a first-of-its-kind intensive Spatial Audio Summer Workshop. Using EMPAC’s new 500-speaker wave field synthesis audio system, as well as Ambisonic technology, the weeklong workshop will offer in-depth training on emerging spatial audio platforms. IRCAM researcher Markus Noisternig will offer a performance using this technology on the opening night, followed by a performance by Harvard’s Hans Tutschku on the final night.
On July 20, EMPAC will celebrate the release of a new book documenting the work of artist Lucy Raven. Low Relief chronicles Raven’s years-long work researching 3-D film technology, culminating in her 2015 EMPAC commission Tales of Love and Fear. Following the book launch, Raven will join forces with Hollywood special effects legend Phil Tippett to present their collaborative project Coming Attraction, along with the cult-classic sci-fi film Starship Troopers, for which Tippett designed all the alien “bugs.”
On August 10 and 11, theater-maker Andrew Schneider will perform his Obie Award-winning experimental theater piece YOUARENOWHERE, inspired by quantum mechanics and parallel universes. Schneider is in residency at EMPAC to develop the follow-up to his blockbuster, which will premiere in the fall.
Finally, on August 17, trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire will bring his quartet to the concert hall. Akinmusire is a rising star of the jazz world and records for the legendary Blue Note record label.
More info available at empac.rpi.edu.
