Aaron Tan, conductor with the Eastman Sackbut Quartet Choristers: Kate Ragan, Anna Bjerken, Abi Liebegott, Mary Reins, Andrea McGaugh, Michael Cullinan, Ben Magruder, Jason Rober, Peter Schoellkopff Eastman students and alumni come together for the only concert this season in Rochester to commemorate the 500th birth anniversary of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, widely regarded as one of the most iconic composers of the Renaissance. Palestrina’s works, renowned for their clarity of text and balanced musical lines, exemplify the ideals of the Roman Catholic Church's Counter-Reformation, codify the high Renaissance style, and have influenced generations of composers. The program will showcase a selection of Palestrina’s sacred compositions across various genres, interwoven with works from later centuries that reflect his enduring legacy. The Eastman Sackbut Quartet will also present music by Palestrina’s contemporaries Claudio Merulo and Orlando di Lasso, and will join the chamber choir in a polychoral motet. The concert will take place at Our Lady of Victory, a parish church in the heart of Rochester known for its distinguished architecture and acoustics. Concert organizer and conductor Aaron Tan is a doctoral organ student at Eastman and an internationally-acclaimed concert organist, church musician, and pedagogue. Until December 2024, he worked as Director of Music at St. Alban’s Catholic Church, an Ordinariate known for its excellence in liturgy and traditional sacred music. He currently serves as Director of Music and Organist at the Church of St. Luke and St. Simon Cyrene, Rochester’s oldest church building.