a fresh, new tune

Houston Symphony's newly named CEO garners a chorus of praise

John Mangum takes his post as the CEO of the Houston Symphony on April 16, 2018.

Photo by Drew Kelley

California’s loss becomes our gain, as the Houston Symphony has named its new executive director/chief executive officer. John Mangum will bring his nearly two decades of arts administration experience to Houston, and takes up the (figurative) executive baton on April 16.

Mangum, who earned a Ph.D. in history with a concentration in musicology from the University of California, most recently served as the president and artistic director of the Philharmonic Society of Orange County. He was director of artistic planning with the San Francisco Symphony from 2011 to 2014, and held a similar position at the New York Philharmonic from 2009 to 2011.

“I’m thrilled and honored to be joining the Houston Symphony at a time when the organization is boldly looking to the future and charting a dynamic course for what an orchestra can be in the twenty-first century,” says Mangum, in a press statement.

The search for the Symphony’s top executive began six months ago, after the pervious CEO, Mark Hanson, left for the San Francisco Symphony. So, perhaps California owed Houston a stellar replacement.

“As a seasoned industry professional with an impressive background in orchestra management and fundraising, John has led some innovative artistic initiatives and has accomplished important milestones in some of the country’s largest markets,” says Janet F. Clark, Houston Symphony Board President. “We welcome John during this important time and look forward to raising our artistic excellence and community relevance under his leadership and creative vision.”

Adding to the chorus of praise for the new CEO, Houston Symphony Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada lauds Mangum’s “enthusiasm and wealth of knowledge he brings from his years of experience with other great orchestras.”

“I am particularly excited about collaborating with him as the Houston Symphony continues to realize the artistic vision we have been working so hard to achieve,” Orozco-Estrada notes.

The executive director position calls for Mangum to work closely with Clark and Orozco-Estrada to manage an annual operating budget of $34 million, and direct the activities of the Houston Symphony, its 77 staff members, and 88 full-time professional musicians.

Mangum will also likely aid in bringing to fruition the symphony’s vision to become America’s most relevant and accessible top 10 orchestra by 2025.

symphony music

A Roman Holiday (Season)

All roads lead to Houston museum's blockbuster exhibit of Imperial Rome

Photo courtesy of Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

The Museum of Fine Arts Houston presents "Art and Life in Imperial Rome: Trajan and His Times" ("Statue of Trajan" Minturno, Italy, 2nd century, marble, National Archaeological Museum, Naples)

Houston's holiday season will have a distinctly Roman feeling this year, as the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is bringing the glory of the Gladiator era to Texas. On November 2, 2025 through January 25, 2026 the MFAH presents the monumental new exhibition “Art and Life in Imperial Rome: Trajan and His Times.”

Featuring 160 objects of antiquity, including marble sculptures, frescoes, mosaics, delicate glass vessels, and exquisite bronze artifacts, the exhibition will transport visitors back in time to the Roman Empire during a flowering of art and architecture. The MFAH partnered with the Saint Louis Art Museum to organize the exhibition, which will showcase many pieces that have never been on view in the U.S.

While Emperor Trajan might not be the most famous — or in some cases, most infamous — of the Roman emperors, he ruled between 98 and 117 C.E. during the empire’s height and was the second of the so-called “Five Good Emperors” of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty. He was also the first emperor born outside of present-day Italy, in what is now Andalusia, Spain. During his reign, he granted citizenship and rights to some peoples from conquered lands. The exhibition will explore how this time period expanded what it meant to be a Roman and how art reflected Rome’s power and promoted the empire’s values and ideals.

$\u200bThe Museum of Fine Arts Houston presents "Art and Life in Imperial Rome: Trajan and His Times"$

Photo courtesy of Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

The Museum of Fine Arts Houston presents "Art and Life in Imperial Rome: Trajan and His Times" ("Statue of Trajan" Minturno, Italy, 2nd century, marble, National Archaeological Museum, Naples)

From statues of prominent men and women of the era, including Trajan, to vivid frescoes and furnishing from the villas of Pompeii, the objects in the exhibition will tell fascinating cultural and political stories of life in imperial Rome. To add context to the artworks and objects of antiquity, the MFAH will recreate a section of Trajan’s Column, which was a towering pillar with a spiraling narrative frieze, one of the few monumental sculptures to have survived the fall of Rome.

“Art and Life in Imperial Rome: Trajan and His Times” brings such a wealth of objects to Houston thanks to unprecedented loans from the renowned antiquities collections of Italian museums including Museo Nazionale Romano, the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli, the Parco Archeologico di Ostia, and the Musei Vaticani. It would would likely take months of travel across Italy to see this much art.

“This is truly a rare opportunity for U.S. audiences to experience spectacular objects from this glorious era of the Roman Empire,” said Gary Tinterow, director and Margaret Alkek Williams chair of the MFAH, in a statement. “We are enormously grateful to our colleagues in Rome, Naples, and Vatican City for lending these treasures to us and broadening the appreciation of Italy’s cultural heritage.”

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