Organist Brings Living Tie to Chapel History
Tuesday morning’s Chapel postlude—a performance on the School’s Aeolian Skinnert organ—had a special tie to Groton history.
Playing the organ was Louise Burr, the granddaughter of J. Henry Eames, an architect who designed St. John’s Chapel while working under celebrated architect Henry Vaughan.
Mrs. Burr said Groton’s Chapel, built in 1900, is typical of her grandfather’s work, which includes the Founder’s Tomb in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City.
Her son, Elias Nyberg, had visited Groton while photographing buildings Eames had designed around Boston. He was helping his mother, president of the Oxford, Connecticut historical society, gather information about Eames.
Nyberg wrote to Headmaster Temba Maqubela and asked if his mother might “play the organ in the church that her grandfather designed, as I think that would give her a tremendous sense of enjoyment.” The result: a morning postlude that brought an accomplished organist into a building reflecting her grandfather's legacy.
Nyberg wrote to Headmaster Temba Maqubela and asked if his mother might “play the organ in the church that her grandfather designed, as I think that would give her a tremendous sense of enjoyment.” The result: a morning postlude that brought an accomplished organist into a building reflecting her grandfather's legacy.
Mrs. Burr has played organ since age 13 and plays regularly in a church in Oxford, Connecticut, where she lives. She said she remembers her grandfather, but didn’t ask him about his architecture. “When you’re a teenager, that’s not what you’re interested in,” said the 84-year-old.
Groton School thanks Mrs. Burr for sharing her talent and providing a living link to the history of St. John’s Chapel.
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