Open Positions

Box Office Assistant
Educational Outreach Program Pianist

The Organization

Founded in Boston in 1815, the Handel and Haydn Society is the oldest continuously performing arts organization in the United States. The Society is a renowned period orchestra and professional chorus, performing music of the baroque and classical periods on the instruments and with the techniques of the time in which it was composed. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Harry Christophers, the Society’s mission is “to perform baroque and classical music at the highest levels of artistic excellence and to share that music with as large and diverse an audience as possible.” The Handel and Haydn Society has an esteemed tradition of innovation and excellence, which began in the 19th century with the American premieres of Handel’s Messiah (1818), Haydn’s The Creation (1819), Verdi’s Requiem (1878), and Bach’s Mass in B-Minor (1887) and St. Matthew Passion (1889). More recently, the Society premiered Randall Thompson’s Passion According to St. Luke (1965)—commissioned for the Society’s 150th anniversary—Daniel Pinkham’s Garden Party (1977), Daniel Welcher’s Oratorio for Peace (1999), Sir John Tavener’s Lamentations and Praises (2002), and Thomas Vignieri’s Fanfare of Voices (2009), commissioned by the Society in honor of the 250th anniversary of Handel’s death. In the last 20 years, Handel and Haydn has given important historical performances of core repertoire, and has introduced such innovative programs as jazz/baroque crossover concerts, staged opera with dance, and narrative set to music, to great critical and audience acclaim.

In 1985, Handel and Haydn launched the Karen S. and George D. Levy Educational Outreach Program to address the lack of performing arts education in public schools resulting from severe budget cuts. Today, this award-winning program reaches 10,000 children throughout Greater Boston. The 2010–2011 Season marks the 25th Anniversary of the Educational Outreach Program, a landmark achievement for the Society and an opportunity to further expand and strengthen the program. Through intensive, original instruction, the Society is dedicated to nurturing the next generation of performers and listeners of classical music.

As Handel and Haydn plans for its Bicentennial in 2015, Artistic Director Harry Christophers has set forth ambitious artistic plans which position the Society’s core identity as performer, educator, resource center, and community partner. In addition to exploring both core repertoire and less familiar works of the baroque and classical periods, the Society continues to develop a diverse audience and make its programs available to all, while expanding its national and international touring schedule, releasing live commercial recordings and further developing its relationships with area cultural and higher education institutions.