Jean-Pierre Luminet: “The Harmony of the Spheres,
From Antiquity to Contemporary Music” Feb. 26, 6:30 p.m.

An evening under the stars: the renowned French astrophysicist — a specialist in black holes and cosmology and co-author of Le Noir de l’Étoile — will speak about the link between music and the celestial bodies beyond our horizon.

Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) Theater. Talk starts at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, go to http://empac.rpi.edu/events/2011/spring/grisey/.

Gérard Grisey: “Le Noir de l’Étoile” Les Percussions
de Strasbourg Feb. 26, 8 p.m.

An evening-length percussion piece by French composer Gérard Grisey, using a feed of distant pulsars, is performed around the audience with more than 400 instruments by the six musicians of the world-renowned ensemble Les Percussions de Strasbourg.

The performance begins at 8 p.m. in the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) Concert Hall. Tickets are $15/$10/$5. For more about the show, and reserve tickets, go to http://empac.rpi.edu/events/2011/spring/grisey/.