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Keeping Pipe Organs Alive
- Providing technical services since 1999
- Manufacturer-independent assessment and recommendations
- Tuning, maintenance, repair, restoration, rebuilding and installation
- Expertise across pipework, wind systems, windchests, consoles and control systems
- A direct W-2 workforce for primary service, with third-party specialists used in collaboration with customers when unique projects require additional domain expertise
- In-house apprenticeship program for developing the next generation of pipe-organ technicians
- Written findings, work records and closeout documentation to support long-term continuity of instrument care
- Flat monthly billing programs offered for recurring tuning and maintenance
- National service coverage and long-term care relationships
Phone: +1 (888) 561-9121
Pipe Organs of Los Angeles
Los Angeles’s pipe organs range from the concert instrument at Walt Disney Concert Hall to small church and chapel organs with only a few ranks. Their histories include work by national builders such as Skinner, Möller, Casavant and Schantz, alongside local firms including Murray M. Harris, Abbott & Sieker and Rosales.
Some instruments retain their original configuration. Others have been rebuilt, enlarged or fitted with new consoles and controls. That history helps explain the instrument a congregation or organist uses today.
Craftsman provides pipe organ tuning, repair and restoration in Los Angeles.
Notable Los Angeles pipe organs
The following examples come from Organ Historical Society records reviewed in October 2026. Specifications belong to the dated entries shown and may differ from the instruments today. A rank is a set of pipes; it is not necessarily the same as a stop.
| Instrument | Builder and date in the cited record | Recorded ranks |
|---|---|---|
| First Congregational Church | Richard F. Muench, 1994; earlier attribution: Skinner, 1931 | 346 |
| Westwood United Methodist Church | Burton Tidwell, 2004; earlier attribution: Schantz, 1995 | 159 |
| Walt Disney Concert Hall | Glatter-Götz / Rosales, 2004 | 109 |
| Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels | Dobson, Opus 75, 2003 | 105 |
| Hollywood United Methodist Church | Williamson-Warne & Associates, 1992; earlier attribution: Casavant, 1930 | 98 |
| St. James’ Episcopal Church | Austin, Opus 2762, 1995; earlier attribution: Murray M. Harris, 1911 | 91 |
| St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral | Rosales, 1995; earlier attribution: Skinner, 1923 | 64 |
| Wilshire Boulevard Temple | Schantz, Opus 2311, 2013; earlier attribution: W. W. Kimball, 1929 | 61 |
| Wilshire United Methodist Church | Harris Organs / Harris Precision Products, 1979–1980; earlier attribution: Möller, 1925 | 60 |
| Immanuel Presbyterian Church | Manuel Rosales & Associates, 1995 | Not recorded |
Los Angeles organ builders
Murray M. Harris and the early California firms
Murray M. Harris operated in Los Angeles from 1894 to 1913. The Johnston Organ & Piano Manufacturing Company succeeded the Harris firm and was itself succeeded by California Organ Company.
California Organ Company was associated with Van Nuys around 1915–1917. Robert-Morton’s recorded Van Nuys period followed, from 1917 to 1929.
These connections help explain why different names appear across early Southern California organs and factory documents.
Abbott & Sieker
Abbott & Sieker operated in Los Angeles from 1961 to 1994. Its work appears in records for church, chapel, residential and university instruments, as well as organs documented at the firm’s shop.
Local examples include St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Santa Monica and La Crescenta Presbyterian Church.
Rosales and later Los Angeles builders
Manuel Rosales & Associates began operating in Los Angeles in 1973, preceding Rosales Organ Builder, Inc. in 1977. Rosales work appears at several churches in the table above, as well as in the Glatter-Götz / Rosales instrument at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
Other builders represented in the area’s history include Greg Harrold, Richard F. Muench, Robert L. David and Williamson-Warne & Associates. Their work forms part of the history of both new instruments and organs altered by successive builders.
Smaller church and chapel organs
The region’s smaller instruments deserve attention alongside its large concert and church organs. This selection includes Möller, Reuter, Casavant, Wicks and Schlicker examples in Los Angeles and nearby communities.
| Recorded location | Builder and opus | Recorded year | Ranks |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Dominic’s Roman Catholic Church, Los Angeles | Möller, Opus 7423 | 1947 | 6 |
| St. Ambrose Roman Catholic Church, West Hollywood | Casavant, Opus 2045 | 1950 | 7 |
| Grandview Presbyterian Church, Glendale | Reuter, Opus 1198 | 1957 | 13 |
| Holman United Methodist Church, Los Angeles | Reuter, Opus 1252 | 1959 | 11 |
| First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica | Schlicker | 1962 | 8 |
| First Church of the Nazarene, Los Angeles | Wicks, Opus 4262 | 1962 | 10 |
| Christ Lutheran Church, Burbank | Möller, Opus 10797 | 1972 | 8 |
| West Los Angeles United Methodist Church | Möller, Opus 11493 | 1981 | 6 |
Researching and caring for your organ
Start with the builder’s name and opus number. Original contracts, specifications, factory drawings and console photographs can help identify the instrument. Keep those alongside records of rebuilding, service, modification or relocation, including documentation for replacement controls.
You do not need a complete archive before contacting Craftsman. Send whatever information you have, along with a description of the problem or proposed work.
Craftsman provides tuning, maintenance, repair, re-leathering, condition surveys and restoration. We also handle removal and relocation, seeking new homes for instruments that can no longer remain where they are.
Call 888-561-9121, email projects@craftsmanpipeorgans.com, or visit our Los Angeles pipe organ service page. For projects elsewhere in the region, see our Southern California service areas.
About the historical records
This guide draws on Organ Historical Society instrument and builder records reviewed on October 18, 2026, covering Los Angeles and nearby communities. One instrument may have several entries, and recorded dates, locations, specifications and builder histories do not establish present condition or business status. The instruments listed are historical examples, not a list of Craftsman customers.