Checking in with: Philharmonic Society of Orange County’s John Mangum

When an organization announces you as its leader in a season brochure and attaches the words “new era” to your name — well, no pressure, right?

That’s the challenge, and opportunity, that John Mangum had this fall when the Philharmonic Society of Orange County entered its 61st season. For the past 21 years, Dean Corey held the reins of the Irvine-based group, which brings musical acts from around the world to the Segerstrom Center for the Arts and Irvine Barclay Theatre.

Now, with Mangum on board as president and artistic director, the society’s 2014-15 season is underway. Next up is the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, at the Segerstrom Center on Nov. 23. The State Symphony Orchestra of Mexico and London Symphony Orchestra are among the groups scheduled for the coming months.

Mangum, whose resume includes a stint with the Los Angeles Philharmonic as well as the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, spoke with the Daily Pilot last week about his plans for the years ahead — and the passion for music he developed as a child. The following are excerpts from the conversation:

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I was looking at the 2014-15 brochure for the Philharmonic Society the other day, and there’s actually a phrase in here — it says, “The Philharmonic Society begins a new era under the leadership of John Mangum.” How do you feel going into that new era?

Well, I mean, any time there’s a change in leadership, an organization gets fresh ideas and tends to strike out in different directions. I would say that, for me, what makes the Philharmonic Society so great is the 60-year tradition of presenting the world’s best orchestras and soloists here in Orange County, and that’s something to which I’m very devoted, I think. I think that’s the core of what we do, and we’ll keep doing it.

But there are, of course, other things that we can look at doing to expand the Philharmonic family, to grow our audience, to reach new audiences, and I think, over the coming months, those are the kind of things that I’ll be working with our board and staff and members of the community on, formulating what those initiatives might be. But yeah, Dean Corey was here for 21 years and did an incredible job, had an amazing track record of exciting, artistic projects and leading the organization in great new directions, and it’s great to have that foundation to build on.

Dean was definitely an institution here in town. Do you think there are any parts of his legacy that we’re going to see continue in the years ahead?

Yeah. I mean, the organization’s devotion to bringing the world’s greatest artists here in Orange County, greatest classical soloists and orchestras — that’s, I think, a big part of Dean’s legacy that will continue as long as the Philharmonic Society does. I think, also, that some of the adventurous programs that Dean came up with, the unique partnerships that Dean forged for the society, those are things that I’m definitely interested in seeing us continue to do.

You’ve been on the planning teams for four orchestras nationwide. Does geography ever make a difference in terms of planning a season? In other words, could something ever play differently to an Orange County crowd than it might in New York or San Francisco?

Well, that’s part of what I’m getting to do, is getting to know the area and the audience, because “yes” is the short answer to that — that different audiences in different places are interested in different things. And, you know, each area has its own kind of history, and a lot of the programming work that I did was part of a tradition.

And the Philharmonic Society has its six-decade tradition, and I think some of the things that happen here are unique — for instance, the relationship with the L.A. Philharmonic, of course. There’s the relationship with the English Baroque Soloists and John Eliot Gardiner, the relationship with the Vienna Philharmonic, just to name a few. And those are things that are unique to our area and help kind of define the Philharmonic Society in terms of what the audience here is interested in hearing.

I read in the Los Angeles Times that you really got your first immersion in classical music from the San Francisco Symphony. Tell me a little bit about that immersion. Do you remember the very first time that you saw them?

Yes. It was for my 15th birthday. I asked my parents to take me to their annual Beethoven festival for my birthday present, and so it was a Beethoven weekend that Roger Norrington conducted, and the first concert was the 8th and 9th Symphony and the second concert was “Missa solemnis.” And so that was my first classical concert. My parents weren’t really particularly interested in classical music, so it was something that I kind of developed on my own and asked them for this, and they did it, which was great. And that started [my] concert attendance. They had a great student ticket program in San Francisco, and also in L.A., when I started school at UCLA, I went to L.A. Philharmonic concerts.

You mentioned that when you were 15, you wanted to see the Beethoven concert. I have to say, whenever I think about a kid being into Beethoven, I think of Schroeder from “Peanuts.” Were you that kind of type? Were you very musical when you were little?

Not really. I mean, I took piano lessons off and on when I was little. There was a neighbor boy whose mother was a piano teacher, and we were friends in fourth grade, and gradually I went over to his house more to play around on the piano than to hang around with him. And I think part of it also was through recording. I’d heard — just kind of in popular culture, classical music is kind of there if you’re looking for it — and so I’d heard certain pieces in TV shows, in commercials, in movies and things like this and sought out recordings. and so, one of the first recordings I got was a recording of Beethoven’s symphonies, and so that was an early enthusiasm.

Were you ever much into pop music, or was classical always your favorite?

I’d say in high school, there was a lot of pop music, and growing up, the Top 40 stuff. But I think by the time I was 13 or 14, I was really interested in classical music.

Do you still play the piano now?

Occasionally, when I have a chance.

Have you ever done concerts?

I’ve done recitals. You know, piano recitals that kids do — not anything fancy.

I’ve looked at some of your lectures on YouTube, like the one you did about finding humor in music, and those are very interesting lectures. Do you plan to do those here in Orange County?

I’ve started giving talks to some of our volunteer groups, and I’m going to be doing at least one pre-concert talk this season. I’d like to do more, and I’m sure that there’ll be time for me to do more. That’s something I enjoy doing. I mean, people who love classical music have to also sort of be evangelists for it. You’ve got to go out and beat the drum. And I feel like that’s something that, with my position, I’m kind of uniquely in position to do.