Community

A Page of Madness

Saturday / September 5, 2026 at 7:00 pm TOPOS 2026 welcomes The Silent Light, performing their live score for Kinugasa’s 1926 silent film A Page of Madness. In EMPAC’s theater, they transform the cult classic into a collision of sound and cinematic unrest. Screening The Silent Light

Improv Spaces

Saturday / September 5, 2026 at 2:00 pm TOPOS welcomes Improv Spaces, presenting Rock City Falls Trio and Sun Dogs in two sets of adventurous improvised music spanning jazz, experimental, ambient, and indie-influenced atmospheres. Performance Rock City Falls Trio & Sun Dogs

TOPOS 2026 Community BBQ

Saturday / September 5, 2026 at 12:00 pm Join TOPOS for a free Community BBQ, catered by Brooks’ BBQ and open to the public, with Sound House Records selling and spinning music—a chance for festival artists and audiences to meet, eat, and keep the conversation going. Gathering

Paris Syndrome

Friday / September 4, 2026 at 9:00 pm Miho Hatori’s Paris Syndrome premieres at TOPOS Music Festival. Surrounded by shifting fields of live sound, voice, and image, encounter what happens when perception begins to slip. Performance, Commission Miho Hatori, with Michiko Ogawa and Daniel Peck

Defiant Life

Friday / September 4, 2026 at 7:00 pm TOPOS welcomes Vijay Iyer and Wadada Leo Smith, performing Defiant Life in the EMPAC Concert Hall. Experience the spiritually and sonically intense improvised music of these two pioneering legends. Performance Vijay Iyer and Wadada Leo Smith

Be the Media Workshop

Wednesday / September 2, 2026 at 5:00 pm Filmmaker Edward George is in Troy for the American premiere of Black Atlas, with author Fred Moten joining for the post-screening talk. A TOPOS festival add-on at The Sanctuary, with iEAR Presents. EMPAC / Sanctuary for Independent Media Workshop Edward George

TOPOS

September 2-5, 2026 TOPOS 2026 creates occasions for deepened listening and critical encounters with Vijay Iyer, Wadada Leo Smith, Miho Hatori, Edward George, and many more. Festival
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