Hope College will feature guest artist Aaron Tan during the college’s annual Donia Organ Recital on Tuesday, March 13, at 7:30 p.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
Performed on the college’s historic Skinner organ, the program will include music by composers including Johann Sebastian Bach, Louis Vierne and William Bolcom.
Aaron Tan started off his passion for music at a young age beginning with the piano and violin. He received his Associate (ARCT) diploma in piano performance at age 12 and his Licentiate (LTCL) and Fellowship (FTCL) diplomas in piano performance at 13 and 15. When he was 18, Tan completed his ARCT diploma in violin performance.
In 2004, Tan began to study the organ at the University of Toronto. Since then, he has completed his ARCCO and FRCCO diplomas in organ from the Royal Canadian College of Organists (RCCO). He has won numerous contests including the Toronto RCCO Young Organists Competition, the Osborne Organ Competition of the Summer Institute of Church Music and the RCCO’s National Organ Playing Competition.
While Tan is passionate about music, he has a Ph.D. in material science and engineering from the University of Michigan. He is a postdoctoral researcher in the University of Michigan’s laboratory and has worked on developing techniques for measuring localized dielectric and thermal properties of polymer thin films.
Tan completed a four-year position as an Organ Scholar at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Detroit, working with Dr. Huw Lewis, who is a professor of music at Hope. Tan was soon after appointed Artist in Residence at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Detroit and is an assistant organist at Christ Church Cranbrook. He regularly performs on the organ at universities and churches.
The recital has been made possible through the generous support of the college’s Tom Donia Memorial Organ Fund. The fund was created in 1990 by family and friends of Tom Donia, a 1971 Hope graduate who died in 1990. The director of communications for the American Red Cross, Donia had a life-long interest in music.
Dimnent Memorial Chapel is located at 277 College Ave., on College Avenue at 12th Street.