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Updated 1/8/2021

Handel and Haydn Society

  • M

    MA

Institution/Business Type: Performing Group

The Handel and Haydn Society is internationally acclaimed for its performances of Baroque and Classical music. Based in Boston, H+H’s Period Instrument Orchestra and Chorus delight more than 50,000 listeners each year with a nine-concert subscription series at Symphony Hall and other leading venues in addition to a robust program of intimate events in museums, schools, and community centers. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Harry Christophers, the ensemble embraces historically informed performance bringing classical music to life with the same immediacy it had the day it was written. Through the Karen S. and George D. Levy Education Program, H+H also provides engaging, accessible, and broadly inclusive music education to over 10,000 children each year through in-school music instruction and the Vocal Arts Program that includes six youth choruses. Founded in Boston in 1815, H+H is the oldest continuously-performing arts organization in the United States, and is unique among American ensembles for its longevity, capacity for reinvention, and distinguished history of premieres. H+H began as a choral society founded by middle-class Bostonians who aspired to improve the quality of singing in their growing American city. They named the organization after two composers – Handel and Haydn – to represent both the old music of the 18th century and what was then the new music of the 19th century. In the first decades of its existence, H+H gave the US premieres of Handel’s Messiah (1818), Haydn’s The Creation (1819), Verdi’s Requiem (1878), and Bach’s St Matthew Passion (1879). Between 2014 and 2016, H+H celebrated its Bicentennial with two seasons of special concerts and initiatives to mark two centuries of music making. Since its founding, H+H has given more than 2,000 performances before a total audience exceeding 2.8 million. In addition to its subscription series, tours, and broadcast performances, H+H reaches a worldwide audience through ambitious recordings including the critically acclaimed Haydn The Creation, the best-selling Joy to the World: An American Christmas, and Handel Messiah, recorded live at Symphony Hall under Christophers’ direction.

Find Me

Ira Pedlikin
Job Title: Director of Artistic Planning and Education
Phone: 617-262-1815
Fax: 617-266-4217
Address:
9 Harcourt Street
Boston, MA 02116

Additional Content:

  • Mozart Requiem

    Stream of live archival performance at Symphony Hall in October 2015

About

Overview

Institution/Business Type:

Performing Group

Legal Status:

Nonprofit - Independent

Year Founded:

1815

Overview

Institution/Business Type:

Performing Group

Legal Status:

Nonprofit - Independent

Year Founded:

1815

Disciplines

Primary Discipline:

Music - Choral

Additional Disciplines:

  • Music - Orchestral

Activities and Services

Activities and Services:

  • Performance / Concert / Reading
  • Residency - Community
  • Residency - In School
  • Workshops / Demonstrations / Master Class
Seasons Active: spring, summer, fall, winter
Events Per Year: 30

Communities

Populations Engaged:

  • Adults
  • General Public
  • Immigrant Populations
  • People with Disabilities
  • School Groups
  • Teens

Geographic Reach:

  • Town / City
  • State
  • Multi-State Region
  • National
  • International

Media Gallery

I Have Worked With

Affiliations and Accomplishments

Awards

Awards:

  • N/A

Awards

Awards:

  • N/A

Artist Info

Touring Artist

Technical Requirements:

  • Requirements will be program specific but nothing required for all programs.

Fee Range:

$6,000 - $65,000

State of Residence:

Massachusetts

Minimum Number of Performers:

8

Maximum Number of Performers:

85

Touring Artist

Technical Requirements:

  • Requirements will be program specific but nothing required for all programs.

Fee Range:

$6,000 - $65,000

State of Residence:

Massachusetts

Minimum Number of Performers:

8

Maximum Number of Performers:

85