St. Olaf Professor Emeritus of Music John Allen Ferguson — better known as “Ferg” to his friends, students, and colleagues — died peacefully on January 5, 2025, at the Benedictine Living Community in Northfield, Minnesota, from the effects of Lewy body dementia. 

An acclaimed organist, choral conductor, composer, and teacher, Ferguson was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, with his younger sister, Carol. He began studying music at an early age, starting piano lessons around the age of six and organ lessons at 10. By age 12, he was playing regularly at his family’s church. As a teenager he worked for the Allen Organ Company, where his duties included playing Christmas music in a holiday display outside the company’s store in the Cleveland Arcade. 

Ferguson graduated from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in 1963 and completed a Master of Music at Kent State University in 1965. He was then promptly hired by Kent State as a faculty member and also became the organist at Kent’s United Church of Christ. He went on to complete a Doctor of Musical Arts at the Eastman School of Music between 1967 and 1976 while teaching full time. During one of his summers studying at Eastman, he met his future wife, Ruth Hofstad, who was also an organist. The two married in August 1971. In 1976 they welcomed a son, Christopher. 

In 1978 the family moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where Ferguson took up the position of minister of music at Central Lutheran Church. In 1983 he joined the St. Olaf College faculty as a professor of organ and church music. He also served as cantor to the St. Olaf student congregation and conductor of the St. Olaf Cantorei. During his years at St. Olaf, Ferguson revitalized and expanded the college’s organ studio and church music program, toured nationally and internationally with ensembles, and oversaw major improvements to the college’s organs and worship spaces — all while transforming the lives of countless students and colleagues through his inspiration and mentorship. He was a beloved professor, well-known for his boundless energy, sense of humor, snappy attire, and dedication to his students. He and Ruth often welcomed students into their home, hosting them in shifts to ensure that everyone was able to attend.

Ferguson remained on the St. Olaf faculty for 29 years, retiring in 2012. “John changed the whole paradigm of how we understand and teach church music,” says Anton Armstrong ’78, the Harry R. and Thora H. Tosdal Professor of Music at St. Olaf College and conductor of the St. Olaf Choir. “He understood how to bring the Gospel to life. So often church musicians can be tied to a denomination,” he adds. “It was powerful to see the influence John had in an ecumenical fashion.”

Ferguson’s tenure at St. Olaf was the inspiration and catalyst for a career in composing and arranging — including scoring hymns for the St. Olaf Christmas Festival — with more than 100 titles in print. Along with Armstrong, he re-envisioned the St. Olaf Choral Series for Augsburg Fortress and worked to make it relevant to a wide variety of 21st-century choirs. He wrote and edited several books and hymnals. He continued to compose right up until falling ill in the summer of 2023. 

An internationally recognized expert in the field of church music, Ferguson traveled across the country and the world presenting hymn festivals and seminars, making friends everywhere he went. He served in leadership roles in national organizations and also consulted for churches of all sizes that wanted to improve the quality of their organs and worship practices. From 2002-2022, Ferguson served as the music advisor of St. Olaf College’s radio program Sing For Joy, bringing the gift of sacred music weekly to thousands of listeners across the United States and the wider world. His work was recognized with multiple awards, including the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians’ Raabe Prize, the F. Melius Christiansen Award for the Minnesota Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association, and the Distinguished Artist Award from the American Guild of Organists.

After retiring, he went on to serve in two interim positions as organist and director of music, first at St. John’s Lutheran Church (Northfield), and later at Normandale Lutheran Church (Edina), only truly retiring from playing weekly church services in 2022. 

A lifelong enthusiast of vehicles of all kinds, Ferguson always owned at least one sports car, including a series of Corvettes, and amassed a large collection of historic military vehicles. In honor of his 50th birthday, he also took up motorcycle riding “in order to stay young,” and continued to ride regularly into his mid-70s. 

In later life Ferguson discovered a love of cats, and delighted in the company of his pet felines, Maggie “Magnificat,” and later Matt “the Cat,” who his friends referred to as “Ferg’s roommate.” During retirement he also expanded his cooking skills, taking great delight in introducing friends to his favorite Scandinavian dessert: rice pudding. Ferguson loved his family, his friends, his students, his work, and his God. 

Ferguson is survived by his son, Christopher ‘99 (Sarah Blakesley Ferguson ‘00), of Auburn, Alabama; grandchildren, Lucy and Thomas; sister, Carol (Bill) Phillips, of Greenville, South Carolina; nieces and nephews; and other relatives, dear friends, and colleagues. He was preceded in death by his parents, Allen and Nancy Ferguson, and his wife, Ruth (Hofstad) Ferguson.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the John and Ruth Ferguson Endowment at St. Olaf College (c/o St. Olaf College, 1520 St. Olaf Ave., Northfield, MN, 55057, Attn: Advancement Office), or the John and Ruth Ferguson Endowment at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Northfield, Minnesota.

A service for John Ferguson will be held on Saturday, March 29, 2025 at 11 .am. in Boe Memorial Chapel. Live and on-demand streaming of the service will be available available here: https://www.stolaf.edu/multimedia/play/?c=4217

We invite you to view the following special presentation featuring the artistry of John Ferguson from the archives of St. Olaf College, newly remastered by Jeffrey O’Donnell ‘02 of St. Olaf Broadcast Media Services. Te Deum: Through the Church the Song Goes On was held in honor of Ferguson’s retirement in June of 2012. This celebratory Hymn Festival features the St. Olaf Cantorei Reunion Choir, Brass, Percussion, Piano, and a host of enthusiastically singing attendees.