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VOL. 3 ISSUE 1 | OCTOBER 2018 HARRY CHRISTOPHERS BRINGS RENAISSANCE WORKSHOP TO H+H STUDENTS On September 29, H+H’s Vocal Arts Program hosted an afternoon workshop for members of the Young Men’s and Young Women’s Choruses. The workshop, titled “Motets and Madrigals,” was led by Artistic Director Harry Christophers, and examined Palestrina’s Sicut cervus and Morley’s April Is in My Mistress’ Face. This unique opportunity allowed the students to work directly with Harry to learn about Renaissance repertoire and performance technique in a small classroom setting. H+H Chorus members joined the workshop for a Q&A session, and to sing alongside the students. “Harry Christophers seemed so passionate about his work and our music,” said Kate, a student in attendance. “He made us think a lot about the beauty and potential of each piece and what we could do to bring out that beauty through our voices. He made me think about my singing and our music in a way that I had never thought before.” Thank you to the many supporters who make this programming possible.
“MOTETS AND MADRIGALS” WORKSHOP WITH HARRY CHRISTOPHERS, SEPTEMBER 2018 PHOTO: JULIAN BULLITT
H+H DELIGHTS MFA ATTENDEES AT CASANOVA’S EUROPE EXHIBITION
MESSIAH 2018: H+H WELCOMES BERNARD LABADIE
JUSTIN BLACKWELL, HARPSICHORD, SARAH YANOVITCH, SOPRANO, MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON, SEPTEMBER 2018 PHOTO: ALEX AVERY
PHOTO: MELANIE BURFORD
This summer, H+H partnered with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston to present a series of performances themed around their exhibit, Casanova’s Europe: Art, Pleasure, and Power in the 18th Century. Exhibit Curator and H+H Board member Frederick Ilchman said of the exhibit, “As the biggest museum overview of 18th-century European art in decades, this exhibition offers a spectacular setting for performances of period music. Although Casanova himself was not an artist ... he serves as the perfect guide to the best of European art in the mid-1700s.” H+H musicians provided contemporaneous music to transport attendees back to Casanova’s time. The performances featured a harpsichord from the museum’s collection, which was included in the exhibit.
This holiday season, H+H welcomes guest conductor Bernard Labadie to lead our annual performance of Handel’s Messiah, marking our 165th consecutive year performing the work. Labadie is no stranger to the famous piece: “I have been living with Handel’s Messiah all of my career, conducting it over a hundred times with various orchestras and choirs. And yet it seems new to me every time I open the score: the life, the drama, the energy, the transcendent beauty are everywhere, and the music speaks to us more vividly, with more power and a more urgent purpose every time we hear it.” Labadie’s Messiah is not to be missed. Get your tickets today by calling our Box Office at 617.266.3605, or at handelandhaydn.org.
H+H EXPANDS COMMUNITY PROGRAMMING WITH NEW PARTNERSHIP H+H is excited to begin a new partnership this fall with Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción, a non-profit focusing on social mobility opportunities in the Latinx community in Boston’s South End, and to continue our established collaboration with the Unitarian Universalist Urban Ministry. As part of these partnerships, countertenor Reginald Mobley will lead H+H musicians in a concert titled Every Voice on November 3 and 4, 2018. An uplifting concert for justice and peace with music spanning ten centuries, Every Voice honors the many voices of Boston, including those of the LGBTQIA, Latinx, and veteran communities, and those impacted by war. “I am especially excited about the opportunity to support the efforts of H+H to engage racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse communities throughout Greater Boston through Every Voice,” said Jamie Hoyte, Chair of H+H’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Thank you to the generous donors who have supported this collaboration to inspire all members of our community through music. REGINALD MOBLEY AND H+H CHORUS MEMBERS, EVERY VOICE 2016 PHOTO: KAT WATERMAN
We hope that you will join us for these special concerts. Tickets are available free of charge at handelandhaydn.org.
PLANNED GIVING TASK FORCE WELCOMES NEW CHAIR JANE CARLSON The 1815 Society recognizes those who have generously made provisions for H+H in their estate plans. These gifts, large and small, ensure that H+H’s future is bright, securing our ability to offer classical music of the highest quality to students and audiences in Boston and beyond. This season, we welcome the new chair of the Planned Giving Task Force, Jane Carlson. Jane has been a member of the H+H board for many years, and brings her expertise in the estate planning field to bear for H+H. Jane and her husband Chris, both members of the 1815 Society since 2016, have extensive experience in the field of estate law, and wanted to ensure that H+H is secure in the knowledge that we will have a base of support in future years. On joining the 1815 Society, Jane and Chris said, “H+H is an amazing organization with remarkable history, brilliant musicianship, and an impressive commitment to community outreach. By making a gift through our will, we hope to sustain this important legacy for generations to come.” Jane took her place as Chair at this year’s 1815 Society luncheon, which honored the more than 100 individuals who have made generous future commitments providing for H+H. LOOK TO THE FUTURE: JOINING THE 1815 SOCIETY The simplest way to make a planned gift is a charitable bequest. This is an easy way to leave a gift of any size, and provide a lasting legacy for H+H. For more information about including H+H in your Will or Living Trust, or if you have already provided for the Handel and Haydn Society in your estate plans, please let us know so we can thank you! Please contact Signe Lindberg at 617.262.1815 or slindberg@handelandhaydn.org.
JANE CARLSON AT THE 2018 1815 SOCIETY LUNCHEON PHOTO: LARA SILBERKLANG
YOU’RE INVITED: PLANNING YOUR FUTURE NOVEMBER 16, 2018 Tax changes have come quickly and frequently in recent years, especially around estate planning and charitable giving. We invite you to join us on Friday, November 16 for a free seminar with Chris Carlson. In this session, Chris will address many of these recent changes in law, and how they could impact your estate plans. To join us for this special lunchtime presentation, please contact our Planned Giving Office at 617.262.1815, or email Signe Lindberg at slindberg@handelandhaydn.org.
VIP SPONSORSHIP PACKAGES AVAILABLE FOR DIDO AND AENEAS IN NEW YORK CITY With excitement mounting in advance of our return to New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art to perform Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, H+H is pleased to offer VIP experience packages for interested patrons. Each package includes a ticket to the Temple of Dendur performance on March 30, 2019, admission to the Met Museum galleries, exclusive access to rehearsals in both Boston and New York, and many more benefits. Packages start at $500 per person and your contribution, which 90% is tax deductible, will help to defray the $150,000 cost for this strategically important program that greatly enhances H+H’s presence on the world stage. Packages are limited and are available on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information or to reserve your exclusive package, please contact Haley Peabody at 617.262.1815 or hpeabody@handelandhaydn.org. We hope you will join us in New York City! H+H PERFORMS MONTEVERDI VESPERS, METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, APRIL 2017 PHOTO: STEPHANIE BERGER
PLANNING YOUR GIFT: GIVING THROUGH YOUR IRA CHARITABLE ROLLOVER Every year, H+H offers excellent concert and education programming to audiences in the Greater Boston area and beyond. But these programs are only possible with the support of our donors and subscribers. Each year, individuals aged 70 ½ and above are obligated to take a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from their IRA. This RMD often comes with tax implications that can be burdensome.
H+H SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS IN ACTION PHOTO: KAT WATERMAN
This fall, direct your RMD to the Handel and Haydn Society, and receive charitable gift tax benefits. When you make a gift directly from your IRA to H+H, you bypass income tax, reduce (or eliminate) the amount you are required to withdraw, and ensure that our music will continue for years to come. To make your RMD gift today, speak with your IRA provider. Questions? Please contact our Development Office at 617.262.1815. Thank you for your support of H+H!
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT AND CEO On behalf of everyone at the Handel and Haydn Society, thank you for your generous ongoing support. This year, our 204th consecutive season, has gotten off to a fantastic start with our opening program, The Great Bach Concertos and Cantatas. The concert showcased our amazing musicians doing what they do best: passionately sharing the music of one of history’s greatest composers with our enthusiastic audience. We are also thrilled to welcome our many returning and new subscribers this season, bringing our subscriber base to nearly 3,500, the most ever in H+H’s long history. This ever-widening circle of music lovers has generated tremendous momentum and energy for our new season, and we look forward to engaging them as new supporters of H+H. Thank you again for your dedication to H+H. I look forward to seeing you in the concert hall this season!
David Snead H+H President and CEO
THANK YOU TO OUR 2017-18 SEASON SUPPORTERS
48%
PRINCIPAL TRUMPET JESSE LEVINE MARKS 30 YEARS WITH H+H
388
NEW DONORS
INCREASE IN SINGLE TICKET BUYERS WHO DONATE
14%
INCREASE IN PERCENTAGE OF SUBSCRIBERS WHO DONATE
The 2017-18 Annual Fund marked many milestones. Thanks to your generosity, we were able to raise over $2.4 million to support our masterful performances and wide-reaching education and community initiatives. From all of us at H+H, thank you for your continued support of our music, passionately shared with audiences young and old in Greater Boston and around the world. We look forward to sharing the 2018-19 season with you.
You may recognize Jesse Levine from the stage, where he performs as H+H’s principal trumpet player. However, there is hardly a hat that Jesse has not worn in his 30 years as Orchestra Personnel/Production Manager and Music Librarian for H+H, from handling last minute repertoire changes, to tracking down lost luggage in Austria, or even finding an emergency dentist. As a member of both the administrative staff and the orchestra, Jesse has seen H+H grow and transform over the past 30 years. “Things are better here than they have ever been, both administratively and artistically,” said Jesse. “I’m glad to have been a part of it, it’s given me a great opportunity.” Thank you, Jesse, for your many years of service to H+H, both onstage and behind the scenes!
FROM THE ARCHIVES: MESSIAH THEN AND NOW This illustrated circular for the Handel and Haydn Society’s December 13, 1942 Messiah performance celebrates the 200th anniversary of the piece, and depicts key persons, places, and instruments of the oratorio’s history. Included is a rendering of Mozart, whose 1789 orchestration greatly influenced later arrangements that featured more instruments and increasingly larger choruses. H+H favored such large-scale adaptations throughout the nineteenth century until the late 1960s. The 1942 performance comprised a chorus of more than 200 voices accompanied by a modern symphony orchestra — a dramatically different experience from today’s historically informed arrangement with 60 total performers (including both orchestra and chorus). To further explore the Society’s rich history with this masterwork, we invite you to visit the Beyond Messiah digital exhibit, featuring more treasures from the H+H Archives at handelandhaydn.org/Beyond-Messiah.
AUDIENCE PRAISE FOR THE GREAT BACH CONCERTOS AND CANTATAS
“It would be hard to top this concert. As long-time subscribers, we’d rank this concert among your top five for sheer beauty, talent, musicianship.” “The performers were vibrant and engaging — so compelling — just delightful!” “The whole performance was amazing. Harry is truly a gift and brings out the best in the musicians he leads.” BE SURE TO GET YOUR TICKETS FOR OUR NEXT CONCERT AT SYMPHONY HALL, BEETHOVEN EMPEROR CONCERTO WITH RICHARD EGARR, CONDUCTOR, NOVEMBER 9 + 11.