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General Information
Box Office FAQ
Concert Etiquette

General Information

What is the Handel and Haydn Society?

Founded in 1815, the Handel and Haydn Society is America’s oldest continuously performing arts organization. Its Period Instrument Orchestra and Chorus are internationally recognized in the field of Historically Informed Performance and known for excellence and innovation in music education.

Read more about the Handel and Haydn Society »
Read more about our Period Instrument Orchestra and Chorus »
Read more about Historically Informed Performance »
Read more about Handel and Haydn’s educational outreach program »

Historically Informed Performance (HIP) refers to the practice of performing works as the composers intended them, using period instruments (instruments from the composer’s time or built like those that existed then) and ensembles comparable in size to those that would have performed during the composer’s lifetime.

Learn more about Historically Informed Performance »

George Frideric Handel (1685–1750) was one of the great composers of the Baroque era. Born Georg Friedrich Händel in Germany in 1685, he anglicized his name when he became a naturalized British subject in 1727. Handel studied in Germany and Italy before settling in London, and was heavily influenced by both the Italian Baroque and German choral traditions. He is most famous for his oratorio Messiah, but also made important contributions to opera and chamber music, among others.

Joseph Haydn (1732–1809), or Franz Joseph Haydn, was one of the great composers of the Classical era. Like Handel, Haydn made important contributions to the oratorio genre, most notably with The Creation. He was also known for being a musical jokester, and included in his works many false endings, surprising loud chords, or even pauses for violins to re-tune. Haydn is often considered the father of both the symphony and the string quartet.

Despite our name, the Society does not exclusively play the music of Handel and Haydn. The Society’s name was chosen to honor Handel, who was at the time considered the greatest of the “old” composers of the Baroque period (1600–1750), and Haydn, considered the greatest of the “new” composers of the Classical period (1750–1830). A model of innovation and excellence, the Handel and Haydn Society has presented countless American and Boston premieres of works by composers such as Bach, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Mozart, and Verdi, as well as Handel and Haydn. More recently, the Society has participated in world premieres of works by Sir John Tavener, Daniel Pinkham, Randall Thompson, and Dan Welcher.

Highlights of the 2011–2012 Season include Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, the Society’s 158th annual performance of Handel’s Messiah, Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, and Bach’s St. Matthew Passion.

View the complete 2011–2012 Season »

Artistic Director Harry Christophers is the artistic leader. He chooses all programs that are presented each season and conducts five of the 2011–2012 Season’s nine performances. The remaining concerts are led by Rinaldo Alessandrini, Steven Fox, Jean-Marie Zeitouni, and Rob Nairn, the Society’s principal bass.

Read more about Harry Christophers »
Learn about this season's concerts »

Box Office FAQ

How do I order tickets?

You may purchase tickets by calling our Box Office at 617 266 3605, visiting us at Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, or ordering through our website. Our Box Office hours are Monday through Friday, 10am–6pm. Hours on concert Fridays are 10am–3pm. Summer hours are Monday through Thursday, 10am–5pm, and Friday, 10am–1pm.

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If you are unable to attend a concert, you may donate your tickets for resale. This is considered a tax-deductible contribution and we will mail you a receipt. Your tickets may be donated by mail, in person, or by fax using the same methods described in the ticket exchange section above. Please indicate you are donating your tickets. In order to acknowledge your donation, we must receive your request at least 90 minutes before the performance begins.

We keep a record of all tickets purchased through the Handel and Haydn Society Box Office and are happy to reprint your tickets if you lose them. Call our Box Office at 617 266 3605 to notify us of your problem and we will be happy to assist you. Please note, if you purchased your tickets through a third party, such as BosTix or a concert hall’s own box office, you will need to contact that third party vendor.

Single tickets go on sale in mid- to late August.

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Subscriptions go on sale at the time we announce our upcoming season, in early spring.

A subscription is a ticket package that consists of an order of tickets for three or more different programs in any given concert season. Our subscription packages offer significant discounts off our individual ticket prices and entitle the purchaser to additional benefits, such as advance seating and discounts on additional ticket purchases.

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Our season announcements take place in early spring.

The Handel and Haydn Society Box Office is happy to address any concerns you may have. If you require wheelchair seating, aisle seats due to a cast, a seeing-eye dog to accompany you, assisted listening devices, or anything else, we urge you to let us know when you are ordering your tickets so that we can do everything to ensure you have an enjoyable concert experience.

The Handel and Haydn Society is happy to welcome children five and older at our performances. We do ask that you carefully consider your child's ability to sit through the performance, as some concerts can be fairly long. Everyone, regardless of age, must have a ticket for admittance.

Concert Etiquette

The premiere of a concerto grosso by Corelli or a quartet by Mozart may not have been heard in a concert hall, but rather at a dinner party, where guests were more intently focused on their food and conversations than on the music. An Italian opera house was a place to be seen in an elegant new garment, converse with friends, and perhaps even play cards, pausing occasionally to hear a favorite soprano sing an aria and shower her with cheers and applause. At the symphony, a composer would gladly welcome any sign that his music was well received, even—or perhaps especially—if the audience was moved to applause between movements of a piece. J.S. Bach, on the other hand, performed the majority of his music in church, where any applause would have been considered inappropriate.

Over time, however, concert etiquette has evolved. Many composers of the 19th and 20th centuries wished audiences to remain silent during performances and devote their full attention to the music. It also became customary not to applaud between movements or after solos so as not to interrupt the flow of the piece. Today, even during performances of early works, it is considered polite to refrain from clapping between movements. Audiences will occasionally break into applause after a particularly stirring performance of a movement or an engaging solo passage, but will generally wait until the conductor has lowered his or her hands after the piece’s final movement. Technology has also developed over the years. No one who attended the first performances of Beethoven’s symphonies carried a mobile phone. Although mobile phones have become common, it is still expected that they remain silenced throughout concerts so as not to interrupt the music or distract the performers.