Director

Dr. Riikka Pietiläinen Caffrey

Dr. Riikka Pietiläinen Caffrey serves as the Associate Professor of the Practice and Director of Choral and Vocal Performance at Boston College, bringing a global perspective to the university’s musical community. Originally from Kemi, Finland, her musical journey began touring with the acclaimed Finnish choir Philomela. Since then, her career has spanned the globe, with previous academic appointments at the American University in Beirut, Whitman College in Washington, and Bunker Hill Community College in Boston.

An innovative teaching artist, Dr. Pietiläinen Caffrey focuses on creating holistic choral experiences and cross-disciplinary collaborations, and works actively to redefine the choral canon. Her articles have been published in American and Australian choral journals, and her original compositions and arrangements can be found under Alliance Music Publications and Kandinsky Music. Deeply committed to the future of the field, she serves on the Advocacy and Collaboration Committee of the American Choral Directors Association.

Her diverse musical foundation bridges genres and disciplines, Riikka holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Jazz Performance from the City College of New York, a Master of Music and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting from the University of Colorado.

Past Directors

John Finney

John Finney served as Director of the University Chorale of Boston College for 30 years, and was the conductor of the Boston College Symphony Orchestra from 1999-2023.  Under his direction, the University Chorale performed throughout the Boston area, New York City, Dublin, Barcelona, Madrid, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, and Rome, and more.

In March 2013 he conducted both the University Chorale and the Boston College Symphony Orchestra in Boston’s Symphony Hall, as part of the celebratory concert in observance of the 150th anniversary of Boston College. In November 2013 he conducted the Chorale in the world premiere performances of God’s Grandeur, composed by Boston College Professor Thomas Oboe Lee, in honor of the sesquicentennial year of Boston College.

John Finney has been recognized as one of the most important musicians in the Boston area. He has served as Director of Music at the Wellesley Hills Congregational Church for 38 years, and has conducted at the acclaimed Bach Festival in Blue Hill, Maine since 2013.  He was Associate Conductor and Chorusmaster of Boston’s Handel & Haydn Society for 24 years, and also served as Conductor of the Heritage Chorale in Framingham, a position he had held since 1987. He has served on the organ faculty of The Boston Conservatory, and also taught at the Academy for Early Music in Bressanone, Italy.

Holding degrees in organ performance from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and The Boston Conservatory, he concertized extensively throughout the United States and Europe as organist and harpsichordist.  He was a member of the organ faculty of The Boston Conservatory, and taught for six years at the Academy for Early Music in Bressanone, Italy.  In August 1999, when he was appointed the conductor of the Boston College Symphony Orchestra, John Finney was given the title of Distinguished Artist-in-Residence at Boston College, until his retirement in 2023.