TROY — St. John’s United Church of Christ in Troy has announced the return of noted organist John Finney to St. John’s United Church of Christ in Troy for a benefit concert on Tuesday, Oct. 1.

The concert will be held at the church, located at 130 S. Walnut St., at 7 p.m. Finney will be sharing some of his favorite organ works, including Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor, movements from Boёllmann’s Suite Gothique, and Widor’s Toccata, said a press release from St. John’s.

Finney is a native of Marshallville. He began his keyboard studies with the late Esther Scudder in 1963 and studied both organ and piano with her until he graduated from Smithville High School in 1974. He continued his studies at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, where he earned the Bachelor of Music degree, studying organ with the late David S. Boe and harpsichord with Lisa Goode Crawford. He received the Master of Music degree in organ performance from The Boston Conservatory, where he studied with James David Christie. After maintaining an extremely active career as an organist and conductor in Boston, Massachusetts for 45 years, he retired in July 2023; he now resides in Fort Myers, Florida.

During his years in the Boston area, Finney was blessed to work for multiple decades with a number of organizations. He was director of music at the Wellesley Hills Congregational Church in Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts for 39 years. He conducted the Heritage Chorale in Framingham for 34 years. He worked at Boston College for 30 years, conducting the University Chorale and the Boston College Symphony Orchestra.

He was associate conductor and chorusmaster of the world-renowned Handel & Haydn Society in Boston for 24 years. He performed as harpsichordist/organist and conductor at the acclaimed Blue Hill Bach Festival in Blue Hill, Maine for 10 years. He served on the organ faculty of The Boston Conservatory, and taught for six years at the Academy for Early Music in Bressanone (Brixen), Italy. He has performed solo recitals throughout the United States and in Europe, and was a prize-winner in several international organ competitions, including the competition in Bruges, Belgium.

St. John’s UCC is a unique church in Troy, tracing its inception back to 1840, when it was one of five churches in the village of Troy. The current building was erected and dedicated in 1882-1883. A Carnegie organ was installed in 1903, and a new console was built and installed in the 1950s. After years of beautiful music, there are now two problems with the organ that need to be addressed: the Windchest Mechanism and the Switching System. The Lima Pipe Organ company estimates that the actual work to correct these problems can begin in February or March 2025, with the removal of the organ from St. John’s and its transport to the Lima Pipe Organ workspace in Elida, Ohio. The entire repair process is estimated to take eight to 12 weeks.

Finney’s concert is free and open to the public. A free-will offering will be received and will be directed to St. John’s UCC Organ Fund. Concert attendees will also be treated to a duet or two, played by John Finney’s favorite duet partner, his sister, Ginny Beamish.