Organist, Choir Director Named At Union Church Of Pocantico Hills

POCANTICO HILLS, NY — Rev. Paul DeHoff and the Board of Trustees of Union Church of Pocantico Hills recently announced that Richard Coffey of New Rochelle has been named the new organist/choir director at the historic church. The church is well known as the home of the luminous stained glass windows by renowned artists Marc Chagall and Henri Matisse. Coffey’s first services were Sunday, March 3.

Coffey retired in 2017 after 45 years as the minister of music and organist for the South Church of New Britain, Connecticut. He continues as music director of the Hartford Chorale, a symphonic chorus that performs around the world.

Coffey holds degrees in music from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the School of Sacred Music of New York’s Union Theological Seminary and was awarded France’s “premier prix” in organ performance following studies with organist Marie-Claire Alain.

He is an active member of the American Guild of Organists, the American Choral Directors Association and Chorus America, a national service organization in support of the choral arts.

In 1992 he was named Choral Director of the Year by the Connecticut Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association, in recognition of “outstanding contributions to the advancement of choral music through distinguished service and the highest standards of performance.”

In 2007 he received a Major Achievement Award from The Hartford Symphony Orchestra in recognition of his “outstanding and inspiring artistic leadership of the Symphony’s two major choral partners, CONCORA and The Hartford Chorale," and in 2008 the Greater New Britain Arts Alliance presented him its award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts.

Coffey is the 2009 recipient of the Alfred Nash Patterson Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to individuals who have made exceptional contributions to choral singing and its culture within New England. He often makes presentations at regional and national conventions of the American Choral Directors Association, the American Guild of Organists, and Chorus America, and he has been a contributing reviewer for The Choral Journal.

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