Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Mangrum.
Hi Michael, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I am a guitarist and bilingual educator in Fort Worth.
I grew up in a home filled with music. My mother plays piano and organ. She still plays organ for her church. Growing up, I spent many days staying quiet in my room while she taught lessons and napping on church pews during choir practice. Growing up, Saturday nights were times for family, food, and music. While we all worked around the house or made a special dinner together in the kitchen, there were three programs that would come on our local NPR affiliate station in South Texas: Blues Stage, JazzSet, and a classical guitar show. The music I make today continues to reflect that influence. I started out playing electric guitar, playing lots of blues. On my first gig, I played and sang Red House, the iconic Jimi Hendrix tune, in a dive bar. When I went to St. Mary’s University in San Antonio for undergrad, I studied classical guitar and jazz. Another really important aspect of my life that is highly reflected in my music is that I have always been immersed in Mexican-American and Latin American culture. The music I love and play, from boleros to mariachi, manifests my strong connection to the culture and music of Latin America.
Regarding the teaching aspect of my life: I teach reading in a bilingual classroom. My decision to become a teacher was based on a desire to do meaningful work and make a positive impact on my community with the skills that life has blessed me with. After finishing undergrad, I moved to Mexico, where I lived for several years. I had to come back to the US in 2015 due to major personal changes, and I was kind of like a ship without a captain. Some friends of mine suggested I look into teaching, and I am so glad I did! There is a saying in Spanish: El que enseña aprende dos veces. The person that teaches learns twice. I have learned so much about life and humanity through teaching, and my only regret is that I didn’t begin teaching sooner. Aside from providing me a platform in which I can impact students that face the challenges of adapting to an entirely different country and culture, teaching also provides me the space to make music when I am not in the classroom.
When I am not in the classroom (and many times, even when I am in the classroom), I have a guitar in my hands.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Musically, the biggest struggle for me has been continuity. Life happened very quickly after undergrad, and with work and kids, making music was not a priority for many years. But in 2015, major life changes allowed me the opportunity to get back to music. I went through a bad divorce, and priorities shifted as my whole life fell apart around me. In all of the loss, music became my rock. Music brought me through it. My guitar had been in storage in Houston for years (that’s another story). My sister needed somebody to ride down to Houston with her, and we went by the storage place and picked up my guitar on that trip. It was a rebirth experience. My sister was amazed at how my whole spirit changed when I pulled the guitar out of the case and strummed a few chords before getting back in the car. Music has given me a sense of focus and meaning through some really dark years that followed that moment.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As a musician, I think I am still finding the space that I fit into. Or maybe it would be better to say that the space is finding me. I am acutely aware that I am not a prototypical concert classical guitarist because that is the music that I listen to, those are the concerts I go to. I am really good at finding a melody and setting it on an interesting harmonic base. If I love a song, I am going to arrange a version of it for solo guitar, and people will love to listen.
What others tell me, and I think this is what I do best, is that the entire atmosphere of a room changes as I play. I am able to connect with something that supersedes circumstance, and people feel it.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
There are a couple of pieces of advice that I have allowed to guide my life. First of all, do what you love to do. As I said before, I am not the “prototype” in any of my professional or artistic abilities. But I have no regrets. I don’t fit a mold because I have lived a life filled with diverse experience, and in spite of the challenges I have faced, I would not change anything I have attempted to do because the motive has always been right: I have done things that I am passionate about. Things that were/are important to me. And that leads me to the second (and related) piece of advice: If you do what you love, you won’t work a day in your life. The struggle is real, regardless of what we do in life. But when we love what we do, the struggle simply becomes a journey of self discovery that transforms our lives in rewarding ways that surpass tangible results.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://michaelmangrumguitar.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelmangrumguitar/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelMangrumGuitarLessons
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelmangrum/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiJK28SbgKJ3OalH3zapHyQ
- Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@michaelmangrumguitar
Image Credits
Joe Moron
Faith Thompson
Liam McDonald
