Aaron Tan

Concert organist Aaron Tan is a leading young artist in North America. He is the only person to have won first prize in three of the continent’s major organ competitions: the Canadian RCCO National Organ Competition, the AGO National Young Artists Competition in Organ Playing (NYACOP), and most recently, in October 2021, the Canadian International Organ Competition.

A Canadian musician of Filipino heritage, Tan pursues multifaceted careers as both an organist–pianist and a materials scientist. His principal musical mentors include John Tuttle, David Palmer, Joel Hastings, Martin Jean, and David Higgs. He is currently completing his doctoral studies at the Eastman School of Music and serves as Organist and Director of Music at St. Alban’s Catholic Church (Ordinariate, Rochester NY). He recently earned both his Master of Music (MM) and Master of Musical Arts (MMA) degrees from Yale University.

Tan has previously served as Organ Scholar at St. John’s Episcopal Church and Artist-in-Residence at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Detroit, and later as Organ Scholar at the Church of the Resurrection in New York City. As a scientist, he also holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science from the University of Michigan, where he conducted postdoctoral research on thin polymer films.