The door in Los Angeles had indeed opened—but slowly. It was a discouraging start. Yet, in a matter of years, Landau had found a way to organize music, promote music, “make” music, and perform as a speaker about music. In Los Angeles she had become a guardian and godmother for music and musicians, especially émigré artists. In all of this she taught; she wanted to teach. She sought to educate for the sake of music but also to give to others what music had given her. Part of that gift was community. Teaching, Landau believed, naturally facilitated a coming together: “I always enjoyed that so many friendships were created by my class, I have considered this as important as the knowledge they may take home.”

Her teaching energized her, and that energy did not go unnoticed. After one lecture, quite late in Landau's career, an elderly woman approached her and said, “I think you enjoyed it more than we did.” Landau hoped that wasn't entirely true. Still, as she reported to Lisel and Spedding, the comment left her “in stitches.” It is thus hardly surprising that she was called to teach outside the centers. This work in turn led to two milestones for Landau: a driver's license and an appearance on television.

In 1954 Landau had begun teaching music-appreciation classes for the Los Angeles Adult School. The director, C. L. van der Bie, used a room in the Westside Center—center management hoped the exposure to its facilities would in turn encourage a new membership. Landau also lectured at the University of Judaism (1951–53) at Temple Emanuel in Beverly Hills, which Mordecai Kaplan organized in 1947 “to promote both cultural and religious Judaism.” The university included the University Institute of Adult Jewish Studies and the Women's Institute. For the University Institute, Landau designed a course titled Jewish Identification and Adjustment as Reflected in the Music of Jewish Composers. For the Women's Institute, she taught The Music of the New Israel in the fall of 1952 and Great Sacred Music of the Various Religions in the spring of 1953.