A Rising Young Organist Fills the Sanctuary in a Free Half-Hour Recital

Every Wednesday, the doors of Pasadena Presbyterian Church open at midday for a half hour of music — no ticket, no cover, just a seat in the sanctuary and whatever a visiting artist has prepared. On Wednesday, July 8, that artist is organist Makena James.

James is a graduate organ student at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music, where she studies with Cherry Rhodes, and she serves as organist and composer in residence at Manhattan Beach Community Church. A native of Asheville, North Carolina, she won first prize in the American Guild of Organists’ Buffalo Chapter competition and has taken honors in international competitions since. She is also a composer who often premieres her own works and maintains a following through her online recordings for organ, piano and handbells.

The Music at Noon series, produced by the church’s Friends of Music, presents local, national and international performers in free 30-minute concerts each Wednesday at 12:10 p.m. The programs span classical, jazz and world music, and they unfold on the sanctuary’s Aeolian-Skinner organ — an instrument used both for recital and as a teaching tool at what is the oldest church in Pasadena.

For downtown workers, retirees and anyone with a lunch hour to spare, the concert offers a brief, unhurried escape. There is no need to reserve a seat; listeners simply arrive before the music begins.

Music at Noon featuring organist Makena James will take place on Wednesday, July 8 from 12:10 to 12:40 p.m. at Pasadena Presbyterian Church, 585 E. Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena. For more information, call (626) 793-2191 or visit ppcmusic.org. Admission is free.