Steven P. Finley, known to the flute community simply as Finley, was born in 1954 in Schuyler, Nebraska. He discovered flute in high school and quickly fell in love both with the music and the mechanics. A graduate of the Peabody Institute of Music at Johns Hopkins University, Finley has enjoyed a rich performing career, appearing with the Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, and Pittsburgh Symphony, and serving as Assistant Principal Flutist of the Caracas Philharmonic in Venezuela. He has performed under such legendary conductors as Leonard Bernstein, Charles Dutoit, Seiji Ozawa, and Sergiu Commissiona, and studied with some of flute’s most influential teachers including Britton Johnson, James Pappoutsakis, Bernard Goldberg, and Doriot Dwyer, with coaching from Leon Fleisher, Leonard Shure, Karen Tuttle, and Robert Willoughby. 

Since 1979, he has been a central creative force in the world of flute-making. Beginning his career at Verne Q. Powell Flutes, Finley apprenticed with Dick Jerome, Ed Machon, and Gary Kaebisch. As a finisher, tester, and artist-instrument matchmaker, Finley has been an integral part of major developments in flute-making from the early days of the Cooper scale to the introduction of Straubinger pads and the development of pinless mechanisms. 

Finley has worked along dedicated colleagues as Vice President of Artistic Development at the Wm. S. Haynes Co. since 2009. His extraordinary technical skill, artistic vision, and profound understanding of sound and expression have helped to transform Haynes instruments into works of art. Famed for his ability to voice instruments that not only meet but transcend the expectations of the world’s greatest flutists, Finley has developed a reputation for finishing flutes that are inspiring, challenging, and revolutionary— instruments that speak with extraordinary depth, color, imagination and a “welcoming, personal resonance.” 

Beloved by flutists, colleagues, and fellow flutemakers across the globe, Finley has devoted his career to nurturing artistry both on and off the stage. He regularly works one-on-one with artists and presents lecture-recitals on flute design and history throughout Asia, Europe, and North and South America, sharing his unique perspective as performer, teacher, and master craftsman. 

Finley’s presence in the Boston flute community has been felt by generations of flutists from his work behind the scenes of the Pappoutsakis Flute Competition to his historic co-op where students and professionals alike have come for flute emergencies and invaluable lessons in repair and life. Finley is an avid admirer of architecture, archeology, numerology, and devotee of Frank Lloyd Wright. 

Special thanks to the Wm. S. Haynes Company for their 2026 Diamond Sponsorship.

Read the Flutist Quarterly tribute at www.flutistquarterly.org/steven-finley/ (link opens in new window; log-in required).