Construction is nearing completion for Rensselaer’s Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC). The 1,200-seat concert hall, designed and constructed to the highest acoustical standards, features maple floors and walls made of cedar and precast stone that are gently convex in shape for acoustic diffusion. The concert hall’s ceiling will consist of fabric panels less than one millimeter thick, selected and supported to be gently reflective to high-frequency sound and increasingly transparent to mid- and low-frequency sound.

As EMPAC continues to take shape on the edge of campus, three weekends of events are being planned in honor of the center’s grand opening in October. Intended to highlight the range of EMPAC’s mission and potential, the celebration will demonstrate how EMPAC can engage, and enlighten artists, scientists, and audiences.

Beginning with a ribbon-cutting and presidential colloquy on Oct. 3, EMPAC’s first opening weekend will include events ranging from classical musical performances to interactive multimedia works to research exhibitions. The second weekend of festivities (which begins Oct. 9) will include a symposium featuring renowned artists, researchers, and scientists discussing the topic of where their respective fields might intersect and connect.

The third weekend (Oct. 18 and 19, which is also Rensselaer’s Family Weekend) will include performances by student groups from Rensselaer and other universities. Visit empac.rpi.edu for more details.