Guidebook for Los Angeles
Arts & Culture
The museum’s Sundays Live series is a free hour-long chamber concert every Sunday evening at 6. It's a great way to end your weekend. They tend to choose more traditional music, played by local musicians. The concerts are just before the museum closes, so by this time it’s usually emptying out a bit if you want to spend some time in the galleries first.
Show up early for a drink in the courtyard, which has a great bar.
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Museo de Arte del Condado de Los Ángeles
5905 Wilshire BlvdThe museum’s Sundays Live series is a free hour-long chamber concert every Sunday evening at 6. It's a great way to end your weekend. They tend to choose more traditional music, played by local musicians. The concerts are just before the museum closes, so by this time it’s usually emptying out a bit if you want to spend some time in the galleries first.
Show up early for a drink in the courtyard, which has a great bar.
Drinks & Nightlife
A monthly series in a very unexpected place, Tuesdays@Monk Space is in a factory kind of setting, with unpainted walls and plastic chairs. It’s very casual. Different groups play, showcasing contemporary composers, young composers. And the musicians are first-class—they’ve won competitions, they have albums. They’re no amateurs.
This is one where I wouldn’t recommend sitting in the front. In a space like that, it’s just so loud. I’d sit in the back to take it all in. It’s more about being in the moment than seeing exactly what the musicians are doing.
MONK SPACE
4414 W 2nd StA monthly series in a very unexpected place, Tuesdays@Monk Space is in a factory kind of setting, with unpainted walls and plastic chairs. It’s very casual. Different groups play, showcasing contemporary composers, young composers. And the musicians are first-class—they’ve won competitions, they have albums. They’re no amateurs.
This is one where I wouldn’t recommend sitting in the front. In a space like that, it’s just so loud. I’d sit in the back to take it all in. It’s more about being in the moment than seeing exactly what the musicians are doing.
The oldest commercial building in Southern California hosts monthly concerts in the summer. The quartets that perform here are not wildly famous, but the venue is amazing. Sitting in the courtyard of the 1816 adobe building and listening to Beethoven quartets that were composed the same year was a time travel experience for me.
Step inside before or after the concert to see the exhibitions. There are paintings from the early 1800s, paintings of this very building. Before I came to LA, I assumed everything here was brand new, so this was so fascinating to see.
Old Mill Foundation
1120 Old Mill RdThe oldest commercial building in Southern California hosts monthly concerts in the summer. The quartets that perform here are not wildly famous, but the venue is amazing. Sitting in the courtyard of the 1816 adobe building and listening to Beethoven quartets that were composed the same year was a time travel experience for me.
Step inside before or after the concert to see the exhibitions. There are paintings from the early 1800s, paintings of this very building. Before I came to LA, I assumed everything here was brand new, so this was so fascinating to see.
Colburn’s Gibson Dunn Rush Hour concerts, once a month on Thursday, are a way to avoid rush hour traffic in DTLA. Colburn, where I teach violin, is the Julliard of the West, and its students are being trained to be solo virtuosos. This is a great way to catch these prodigies before they take off to the world's most famous concert halls.
The concerts here are free, but you need a reservation. Reservations open up online two weeks before the concert. As a backup plan, Colburn also has weekly concerts on Fridays. It’s a smaller stage but features only the highest level of students.
Colburn School
200 S Grand AveColburn’s Gibson Dunn Rush Hour concerts, once a month on Thursday, are a way to avoid rush hour traffic in DTLA. Colburn, where I teach violin, is the Julliard of the West, and its students are being trained to be solo virtuosos. This is a great way to catch these prodigies before they take off to the world's most famous concert halls.
The concerts here are free, but you need a reservation. Reservations open up online two weeks before the concert. As a backup plan, Colburn also has weekly concerts on Fridays. It’s a smaller stage but features only the highest level of students.
UCLA's historical hall looks almost like Hogwarts. It has hosted so many of the greats, from Schoenberg to Gershwin. It’s fascinating to me. And unlike some stages, which offer just one thing, at Royce you can see an opera, or hear a symphony, chamber music, or a recital of an acclaimed artist. They’re open to anything. I like that.
Royce is famous for its acoustics. The whole thing is made of wood, which transfers sound better than anything. No need to splurge on expensive tickets. When I went, I bought a really cheap ticket and was sitting all the way in the back, and I could hear perfectly.
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Royce Hall
10745 Dickson CtUCLA's historical hall looks almost like Hogwarts. It has hosted so many of the greats, from Schoenberg to Gershwin. It’s fascinating to me. And unlike some stages, which offer just one thing, at Royce you can see an opera, or hear a symphony, chamber music, or a recital of an acclaimed artist. They’re open to anything. I like that.
Royce is famous for its acoustics. The whole thing is made of wood, which transfers sound better than anything. No need to splurge on expensive tickets. When I went, I bought a really cheap ticket and was sitting all the way in the back, and I could hear perfectly.
This church in Santa Monica is a regular stop for Kaleidoscope, the only conductorless orchestra in LA. They perform major classical works without a conductor, so instead of following only one person's baton, they all take responsibility. These guys will do a Beethoven symphony, a very complicated and advanced piece. As a musician watching them, I was nervous the whole time.
Like many musical ensembles in LA, Kaleidoscope plays at churches and other venues all over town. Seating is open, and there are no set ticket prices. It’s pay what you can.
First Presbyterian Church
1220 2nd StThis church in Santa Monica is a regular stop for Kaleidoscope, the only conductorless orchestra in LA. They perform major classical works without a conductor, so instead of following only one person's baton, they all take responsibility. These guys will do a Beethoven symphony, a very complicated and advanced piece. As a musician watching them, I was nervous the whole time.
Like many musical ensembles in LA, Kaleidoscope plays at churches and other venues all over town. Seating is open, and there are no set ticket prices. It’s pay what you can.