Photo by Natasha Moustache

The heart for the heart of the city.

Boston University’s non-denominational Neo-Gothic chapel serves as a “heart for the heart of the city and a service in the service of the city.” Located at 735 Commonwealth Avenue, ensembles and soloists alike often perform in Marsh Chapel as part of the School of Music concert season.

Behind the scenes with Marsh Chapel’s organist

CFA alum Justin Thomas Blackwell (CFA’09), BU’s Marsh Chapel associate music director and organist, describes the technical demands and the artistic pleasures of performing on one of the city’s most famous pipe organs.

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The history of Marsh Chapel

Marsh Chapel was built in the early 1950s. The pipe organ in Marsh Chapel was crafted by Casavant Frères, Ltd., in Quebec, installed in the 1950s, and refurbished and rededicated in 1985. Like every pipe organ, once installed, it is one of a kind. “No two organs have the same set of sounds,” says Blackwell. “The stops on every organ are different, and organ builders construct pipes differently over the years. But even if you had two organs with exactly the same stops and the same pipes, the acoustics of the room would be different, which causes the sounds to interact in a different way.” The Marsh Chapel pipe organ is the real deal, with no added digital technology like many contemporary organs, “basically the same technology as the organs of the 1600s.”

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