At Our Lady of the Angels, free organ recitals unleash the majesty of Los Angeles

Even in a building as massive as the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown, the organ stands out. How could it not?

Standing 85 feet tall behind the right side of the altar, weighing 42 tons, featuring over 6,000 pipes and bearing the epic name Opus 75, it looks half smokestacks, half battleship and all awesome. It’s regularly used during Mass and has hosted organists from around the world since its 2003 debut.

But what’s coolest about Opus 75 — and what not enough people know — is that the Cathedral holds free lunchtime recitals featuring its star instrument on the first Wednesday of each month.

As an organ fanatic, I have long wanted to attend one. I finally had the chance this week.

A cathedral of and for L.A.

Accompanied by my Times colleague (and fellow classical music head) Ruben Vives, I arrived at the cathedral during the daily 12:10 service, just before the Eucharist. Resident organist Sook Hyun Kim worked the King of Instruments like the seasoned pro she is, including a moving version of “Make Me a Channel of Your Peace” — an apropos hymn for the era of Pope Leo XIV.

About 40 people representing the breadth of L.A. — white, Latino, Asian, Black and all age groups — spread out across the pews after Mass ended to listen to guest organist Emma Yim. The 22-year-old graduated from UCLA (Go Bruins!) two years ago with degrees in biology and organ performance. She is pursuing a master’s from our alma mater in the latter discipline, does research for a UCLA Department of Medicine women’s health lab and also plays the cello.

Man, and I thought I covered a lot of ground!

Her choice for the cathedral recital: three of the five movements from French composer Charles-Marie Widor’s Symphony No. 5. It would be Yim’s first time playing Opus 75.

Playing the King of Instruments

The first movement was mostly variations on a cascading theme. Kim stood to Yim’s side to flip the pages of the score while the latter’s hands leaped around the rows of the organ’s keys. Yim played at first like she didn’t want to tempt the power of the behemoth before her — the notes were soft and cautious.

But during Widor’s playful second movement, the young adults in attendance who had been on their smartphones began to pay attention. Heads began to sway with every swirl of Baroque-like chords that Yim unleashed. “I could hear elements of ‘Lord of the Rings’ in there,” Ruben whispered to me as we looked on from our center pews.

Opus 75 was waking up

She skipped two movements to perform the Fifth’s fifth, better known as Widor’s Toccata. Its soaring passages have made it a popular song for weddings. More people began to poke their head in from the hallways that ring the cathedral’s worship space to see what was going on. Yim became more animated as she worked the keys and foot pedals faster and faster. High-pitched arpeggios accentuated resonant bass notes.

Kim stopped flipping the score, stepped back and looked on in awe like the rest of us as Yim roused Opus 75 to its full might.

A performance that pushes us to a better place

The majesty of L.A. suddenly crossed my mind. Even in tough times like these, it’s unsurpassed in beauty, in its people and especially in its capacity to surprise and delight in places expected and not. It’s people like Yim and performances like hers that stir us all forward to a better place.

The recital ended. “Beautiful, just beautiful,” Ruben said, and I agreed. The applause the crowd gave Yim was swallowed up by the cathedral’s size and our sparse numbers, but she was visibly moved. “Thank you all for coming,” the youngster quietly said, and we all went off to our day.

Kim told Ruben and me that the cathedral’s organ series will take a summer break before it relaunches in September. See you then!

Today’s top stories

A for-sale sign is posted at a home on Lake Avenue that was destroyed by the Eaton fire.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Developers are buying up Altadena

• Hundreds of signs sprouted in the ash-laden yards of Altadena’s burned-down homes: “Altadena Not for Sale.”
• But as the summer real estate market kicks into gear, not only is Altadena for sale — it seems to be flying off the shelves.

Elon Musk and Donald Trump have very publicly broken up

• Trump’s breakup with Musk devolved into a war of insults yesterday.
• Musk is seeing his projects unraveling, inside and outside government.
• Can he get Tesla back on track? Here are four obstacles.

UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk vows to restore campus trust amid ‘nervousness and anxiety’

• Since he took the helm this year at UCLA, Chancellor Julio Frenk has found himself in a vortex of unprecedented obstacles not only to his campus, but also to the nation’s institutions of higher education.
• In an interview, he defended scientific university research, diversity efforts, admissions practices and international students amid attacks from Trump, and said he wanted to “eradicate antisemitism.”

Candidates for California governor faced off in first bipartisan clash

• In the first bipartisan gathering of 2026 gubernatorial candidates, four Democrats and two Republicans agreed that despite the state boasting one of the world’s largest economies, too many of its residents are suffering because of the affordability crisis in the state.
• Their strategies on how to improve the state’s economy, however, largely embraced the divergent views of their respective political parties as they discussed housing costs, high-speed rail, tariffs, climate change and homelessness.

California petitions the FDA to undo Kennedy’s new limits on abortion pill mifepristone

• California joined Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey in asking the FDA to ease restrictions on the abortion pill, or exempt them from those restrictions.
• The drug, which can be received by mail, has been on the U.S. market for 25 years and taken safely by millions of Americans, according to experts.

What else is going on

• The Fort fire growing in the Grapevine triggered evacuation warnings near Interstate 5.
• The lethal algae bloom is over, but sickened marine mammals aren’t safe yet.
• Mayor Bass wasn’t the only one deleting texts during the firestorms. Supervisor Barger did too.
• Trump’s break-up with Musk devolved into a war of insults.
• An L.A. suburb is holding ICE detainees in its city jail, sidelining sanctuary rules.
• Can Elon Musk get Tesla back on track? Here are four road bumps.
• Holding your cellphone while driving is illegal, even for navigation, a California court rules.
• Trump announces a travel ban affecting a dozen countries set to go into effect Monday

Commentary and opinions

• Columnist Sammy Roth offers some reflections from a road trip to Mono Lake and the Owens Valley, the northernmost reaches of Southern California.

This morning’s must-reads

California

Pali High’s football stadium burned. Their Hollywood Bowl graduation is bittersweet

Pali High, whose campus was partially burned in the Palisades fire, held its graduation at the Hollywood Bowl, a historic venue that delighted attendees.

June 4, 2025

Other must-reads

• Will Dodgers’ pitchers ever get healthy? How the team is tackling its biggest problem.
• Why Paramount’s efforts to settle Trump’s lawsuit have drawn mounting political heat.

For your downtime

(Carla Blumenkrantz / For The Times)

Going out

• Experiences: Here’s where to go to get the best representation of Glendale, this oft-misunderstood place that is actually, to name-drop its century-old moniker, a “jewel” of a city.
• Spas: At her skin-care studio, this aesthetician wants trans people to feel loved and cared for.
• Hiking: 3 campgrounds near L.A. where you can start the morning with a hike.
• Movies: ‘The Life of Chuck’ — in theaters now — is an apocalyptic, soul-seeking puzzle that’s missing a few pieces, argues film critic Amy Nicholson.

Staying in

• Television: After 10 years, ‘Phineas and Ferb’ returns with a new season and more musical moments.
• Books: Jess Walter’s sublime ‘So Far Gone’ finds redemption in exasperated Pacific Northwest exile.
• Recipes: Here’s a recipe for Christina Tosi’s cinnamon buns with brown sugar goo.
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

A question for you: What’s the best advice you’ve gotten from your father or father figure?

Polly says, “My dad used to love the saying, ‘if you’re not living life on the edge, you’re taking up too much space!’ He would say it as reminder for himself and to my sister and I to not overthink things and to just let loose, stop worrying, or try something new.”

Peter says, “I was around 8 or 9 years old and prattling on about something I knew nothing about, when my father sternly admonished me. He said ‘Peter, you only learn when you listen, never when you talk.’ His words resonated and got me to my core.”

Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.

And finally ... your photo of the day

Sliding Fleetwood pocket doors open the airy kitchen and living spaces to the backyard.

(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

Today’s great photo is from Times photographer Juliana Yamada at the Manhattan Beach home of Paul and Cailin Goncalves, who turned their formerly compartmentalized home and ADU into a bright, flexible family home.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, Sunday writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

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