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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.

Among recent milestones, Handel and Haydn made its London debut under Sir Roger Norrington in July 2007 as a featured performer at the prestigious BBC Proms Festival, which the London Telegraph named one of the top musical events of 2007. In September 2006, it made its debut at the Haydn Festival at the Esterhazy Palace in Eisenstadt, Austria, with Harry Christophers. Between 2003 and 2006, the Society premiered new productions of baroque operas staged by director Chen Shi-Zheng. In fall 2005, two of the company's recordings - All is Bright and Peace - were in the Top Ten on the Billboard classical music chart at the same time. Handel and Haydn Society won its first Grammy award for its recording of Sir John Tavener's Lamentations and Praises (2002), co-commissioned with Chanticleer. It released its first project - Mozart's C Minor Mass - with Harry Christophers in September 2010 on the CORO label.

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.

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.