The Rensselaer Concert Choir will give their final performance of the 2013-14 academic year at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, May 4, at St. Paul’s Church, 58 Third St. in Troy.

The concert is free, but donations are encouraged and will go toward ongoing fundraising to build a new organ at St. Paul’s Church.

The church has been in downtown Troy for more than 200 years, first at the intersection of Third and Congress streets in 1804 and later moving down Third Street to the intersection of State Street. The church has had an organ since the early 19th century. The organ in use today was installed in 1921.

Conductor Nicholas DeMaison said it is important for students in the choir to have experiences performing off campus. “I want the students to have experiences that really integrate what we do into the community that surrounds Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute,” he said. “I’m operating under the assumption that when these students graduate from Rensselaer they are going to work in fields that are not directly related to music, and if they want to maintain some kind of music in their lives they’re going to have to go out and find opportunities like this one to be involved in their local music community.”

The repertoire for the concert will include Mass for Four Voices by William Byrd, a full 16th-century English Mass that will be interspersed with motets by Duruflé, Mallonée, Messiaen, Tallis, and Wylkynson.

“The Mass will provide a line of continuity throughout the concert and the motets that I have chosen will complement that main piece,” DeMaison said.