Piano and music theory teacher Jeffrey Farrington dies at 71

Jeffrey John Farrington of Ringoes died unexpectedly on Nov. 16 in Pennington. He was 71.

The second child of Donald H. Farrington and Catherine (Masterson) Farrington, he was born on November 29, 1951, in Troy, New York.

He studied piano at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston and Princeton University.  At the Conservatory, Jeff studied with Robert Helps and Katya Andy and later privately for thirty years with Sophia Rosoff.  While in graduate school, he discovered the music of Edward T. Cone, a professor at Princeton who had previously been known more as a critic than a composer. Farrington was instrumental in producing and making available commercial recordings of Cone’s music.  On several of these, Farrington performs the piano part.

He had a number of private piano students over the years, and he taught piano and music theory at the Westerhoff School of Music & Art.  

In addition to his family, Jeff will be greatly missed by his many friends, his students at the Westerhoff School, and the crew at Mom’s Restaurant. 

He is survived by his siblings and their spouses: Gregory and Jean Farrington of Bradenton, Florida, and Polly-Alida Farrington and Douglas Whittet, Voorheesville, New York; his nephew Timothy Farrington and Jennifer Chu of New York, New York; and his great nieces, Eleanor Farrington-Chu and Frances Farrington-Chu.  He was a devoted uncle to his nephew and great-nieces.

Gifts in Mr. Farrington’s memory may be made to:  Westerhoff School of Music & Art, 5 Calvin Place, Metuchen, NJ 08840. A memorial service will be held at a future date.