July 5, 2006: Aaron Tan awarded first prize in 19th Biennial Osborne Organ Competition

When the distinguished jury returned to the sanctuary of St. George's Memorial Anglican Church in Oshawa from an unusually long period of deliberation after a thrilling and intriguing presentation from three of Canada’s finest young organists, Osborne Organ Competition Co-ordinator Dr. Mark Toews announced that University of Toronto engineering student Aaron Tan went home with the First Prize portion of the Florence and Stanley Osborne Scholarship in Church Music, $1500.  The Scholarship is awarded to Canada’s finest young organists in support of their church musical studies by means of a biennial organ competition in even-numbered years by Canada’s Summer Institute of Church Music.  Montrealer and current doctoral candidate at New York’s Julliard School of Music Isabelle Demers was awarded the Scholarship’s second prize, $750.

AARON TAN received his ARCT (Associateship) in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Canada at the age of 12. He then went on to earn his LTCL (Licentiate) diploma in Piano Performance from Trinity College of Music (London, England) when fourteen. At fifteen years old, he successfully completed his FTCL (Fellowship) diploma, also from Trinity College. In January 2004, he completed his ARCT diploma in Violin Performance.  Aaron performs regularly in the Greater Toronto Area, and has also given concerts in Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland.  In 2004, he began classical organ studies with Dr. John Tuttle, and has so far been a recipient of the Barwell Piano Student Scholarship a winner of the Toronto Competition for Young Organists, and a student of the Organ Academy at Stratford Summer Music, where he studied with James Edward Goettsche, official organist to the Vatican Basilica of St. Peter, in 2005.  Aaron, who currently serves as organist and choirmaster at Church of the Ascension (Anglican) in Toronto, is twenty years old, and has recently completed his third year of the Engineering Science Program at the University of Toronto. 

From an impressive field of semifinal applicants four finalists were chosen (by means of  recorded performances) by a jury convened by Competition Co-ordinator Mark Toews, and including Dr. Toews, Thomas Fitches and Janet Macfarlane Peaker.  Toronto University of Toronto music student Konrad Harley also qualified, and competed as a finalist in the competition.  One other finalist selected to advance to the final withdrew in May.

The jury of the Final Round of the 19th Biennial competition was chaired by Paul Halley (English-born, Canadian educated and American resident grammy-award winning composer and former Organist of  New York’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine), and two other distinguished Canadian musicians, Douglas Bodle (Organist and Director of Music at Toronto’s St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church and organ and vocal instructor at the Faculty of Music of the University of Toronto), and Elaine Broughton (prolific teacher, conductor and church musician, and Royal Conservatory of Music national examiner).

The prizes of the Osborne Organ Competition were endowed in 1972 by Dr. and Mrs. Stanley Osborne in support of young organists studying organ and church music at an advanced level.  It alternates in even-numbered years with a similar  competition sponsored by the Royal Canadian College of Organists in odd-numbered years, and it differs from its sister competition principally in its devotion to the art of leading congregational singing from the organ.  In addition to a single required selection by J.S. Bach (in 2006 the Leipzig Chorale Fantasia, “Komm Heiliger Geist, Herr Gott” BWV 651, and a Canadian work of the competitor’s choice, each competitor leads the audience in the singing of a hymn (in 2006 “My Soul is Filled with Joy” to the tune ‘Deer Park’).  The jury weighs the strengths of the finalists’ performances and reaches a decision on how (and whether) to award the prizes, and in certain cases, how to apportion the available prize money to recognise the achievements of the finalists.

The Osborne Organ Competition Fund of Canada’s Summer Institute of Church Music has recently been opened to receive donations from those wishing to support the extraordinary young people for whom it was created.  For more information on making a tax-deductible donation to the Osborne Organ Competition Fund, visit the Osborne pages of www.sicm.ca, the online home of Canada’s Summer Institute of Church Music or call (416) 356-3138.