14th Annual Summer Organ Concerts

FREE ADMISSION

Join us for four 60-minute concerts by world-class organists performing on the landmark Shaffer Memorial Organ in a magnificent cathedral setting. Scroll down for bios.
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CONCERT SCHEDULE

Sunday, July 7th (3pm) – THOMAS MELLAN
Concert Organist / Composer
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Sunday, July 21st (3pm) – SEAN O’NEAL
Director of Music and Organist at St. Cross Episcopal Church in Hermosa Beach
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Sunday, August 4th (3pm) – JAEBON HWANG
Associate Director / Organist at First UMC of San Diego
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Sunday, August 18th (3pm) – CHARLIE RAASCH
Assistant Organist at St. John’s Lutheran Church of Orange

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LOCATION

Westwood Church – map
10497 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles CA 90024
310.474.4511

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FREE PARKING: Abundant secure parking is available for all events at the church. It is located below Belmont Village, the building east of the Sanctuary. From Wilshire Blvd., use the driveway by the main steps in front of the Sanctuary and proceed under the overhang to the underground parking lot. Please observe the signs that identify which spaces are for church use. After parking, proceed to the stairwell and elevator located at the church end (west end) of the parking structure.

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THOMAS MELLAN

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Born in Lyon, France in 1995, organist/composer Thomas Mellan was awarded first place in the keyboard division of the 2015 and 2016 national competitions sponsored by the Musical Merit Foundation. In 2011, he was one of six organists invited to record on the official Walt Disney Concert Hall Organ DVD. He performed as ‘Rising Star in the American Guild of Organists’ West Region Regional Convention and in the Centennial International Summer Organ Festival at the Spreckels Pavilion. As Young Artist of the Year, he performed a solo recital in the 23rd Organ Festival at St. Eustache in Paris, France. In 2018, he performed on the International Organ Festival of Lille, and that of St. Antoine l’Abbaye, in France. He gave the Ukrainian premiere of Messiaen’s Livre d’Orgue during an artistic residency at the Organ Hall in Lviv in the same year.

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His catalogue of over thirty compositions includes orchestral, chamber and solo works. His work …on transcendence…, for five solo cellos and orchestra, was premiered by the Sakura cello quintet and the USC Thornton Symphony under the direction of Donald Crockett in 2016. He
performed his Ballade de l’impossible as a guest of Cameron Carpenter at Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2019. Compositions have been performed in such venues as the Chautauqua Institute (New York), Rider University and the Princeton University Chapel (Princeton, New Jersey), the Spreckels Organ Pavilion (San Diego, California), Walt Disney Concert Hall, (Los Angeles, California), the University of Southern California and Église St. Eustache (Paris, France).

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Mellan was the Outstanding Graduate of the masters class of 2019 and the undergraduate class of 2017 at the University of Southern California, Thornton School of Music. He graduated with a Master of Music degree in organ in 2019, and a Bachelor of Music degree with a double major in organ performance and composition in 2017. He studied organ with Cherry Rhodes and
composition with Donald Crockett. Mellan received the Presser Undergraduate Scholar Award in 2016. He was awarded the Thornton Faculty Award in 2013, the most prestigious scholarship awarded to an undergraduate at the Thornton School of Music.

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SEAN O’NEAL

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Sean Coburn O’Neal was born and raised in Long Beach, CA. He began musical studies with the piano at age 10, and then with the organ at age 16 – since 1993, his teacher/mentor has been James Walker. Sean has received various musical honors and awards from various musical organizations, most notably having been awarded the first-place performance prize in two regional American Guild of Organists competitions: Arizona, 1995 and Hawaii, 1997.

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Sean is a frequent recitalist, both locally and around the United States, having been featured at the national AGO convention in Denver, CO. (1998); has performed in other prestigious venues around the U.S. such as St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral (Seattle, WA), Grace Episcopal Cathedral (San Francisco, CA), St. Mary’s Catholic Cathedral (San Francisco, CA), First Congregational Church (Los Angeles, CA) and at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angeles (Los Angeles, CA). In June of 2000, Sean was featured on the national public radio program “Pipe Dreams” and, in September of 2001, was the featured soloist with the Long Beach Symphony in a performance of the “Organ Symphony” by Saint-Saens. Sean has the distinction of having served as music director for the most recent consecration of Los Angeles diocese bishop John H. Taylor in July of 2018, and conducted the 80-voice choir for that service.

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In addition to playing the organ, piano and choral conducting, Sean has been a pipe organ builder for nearly 20 years in the Southern California area, and is the owner of O’Neal Pipe Organ Service of Long Beach, CA. Sean formerly held the position of Director of Music & Organist/Choirmaster at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Covina, CA for 17 years, and is currently the Director of Music & Organist/Choirmaster for St. Cross Episcopal Church in Hermosa Beach, CA.

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JAEBON HWANG

Jaebon Hwang is Organist and Associate Director of Music at First United Methodist Church of San Diego where she presides over the largest instrument in the county. This follows her tenure at Westwood United Methodist Church and First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, which house two of the largest organs in the West Coast.

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She won 3rd prize at the 13th National Organ-Playing Competition sponsored by The Ruth and Clarence Mader Memorial Scholarship Fund in 2013. Awarded Fellow of American Guild of Organists (FAGO), the organization’s highest level of certification, she recently completed her Doctor of Musical Arts in Organ Performance at the University of Southern California, studying with Dr. Ladd Thomas. Prior to her studies in organ, she earned degrees in Composition and Scoring for Film & Multimedia from Korea National University of Arts and New York University respectively.

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As an active member of the American Guild of Organists, she served on the executive board of the Los Angeles chapter in the several roles and in 2018 directed a Pipe Organ Encounter, an educational outreach program.

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In 2014, she participated in the recording of the first album of the “Hollywood Epic Brass” with in-demand studio musicians in Los Angeles. Featured at the West Region Conventions of American Guild of Organists in 2017 and 2019, Ms. Hwang maintains an active performance schedule as a recitalist and as a collaborative artist.

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CHARLIE RAASCH

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Charles Raasch is a long time resident of Orange County. He has been active in music here for over 35 years. He has played for Lutheran, Catholic and Presbyterian churches over the years, and has substituted at churches and venues throughout the area. He is currently the organist for the St. John’s, Orange concert series, playing literature and composing new works which are often find their debut at these concerts. He is also a Past Dean of the Orange County chapter of the American Guild of Organists. He has studied with Esther Jones and Michael Burkhardt and is currently studying with Dr. Tom Mueller. Charles is an electrical engineer by trade, and in addition to a passion for playing organ music, is involved in developing hardware and software for digital organs. He has built several digital organ consoles in use by himself and his colleagues, and has sampled many local pipe organs which are sold worldwide on the Hauptwerk software platform. He currently is employed as an electrical engineer at Acacia in Newport Beach. He lives with his wife Leslie and dogs Alice and Olive in Foothill Ranch, California.

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