The Handel and Haydn Society Elects Robert N. Shapiro as Chairman of the Board

(Boston, September 24, 2020) The Handel and Haydn Society Board of Governors elected Robert N. Shapiro to serve as the next Chairman of the Board of Governors. Shapiro will succeed W. Carl Kester, who served for the past five years as Chairman. Shapiro began his tenure on September 23, 2020.

Shapiro is Senior Consultant and Retired CEO of Ropes Wealth Advisors. He has served on the Handel and Haydn Society Board since 1993.

“The Handel and Haydn Society is a vibrant and vital institution,” said Shapiro, “and I am devoted to its mission of connecting all of us with our shared humanity through our programs and performances. I am thrilled to deepen my involvement in this new role, and look forward to working with the board as we help H H navigate unprecedented times. There are opportunities as well as challenges for arts organizations - the board and I are committed to seeing H H thrive.”

“Rob is incredibly passionate and kind. He has given countless hours to improving the Handel and Haydn Society and we are honored to have him as our new Chairman of the Board of Governors,” said David Snead, H H’s President and CEO. “Rob has the intelligence, compassion, and creativity needed to guide this 200-year-old organization and provide the groundwork so it may remain strong for another 200 years.”

Shapiro has also been a trustee of the Peabody Essex Museum for more than twenty-five years and served as president of the board from 2005 to 2020. He is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard. From 2006 to 2012 he was a member of the Board of Overseers of Harvard University, having previously been president of the Harvard Alumni Association and president of the Harvard Law School Association. In May 2018, he received the Harvard medal, awarded for extraordinary service to the university. He has also served as a trustee of Phillips Exeter Academy for ten years, and of Noble and Greenough School for more than twenty years.

Shapiro received his undergraduate degree from Harvard College, concentrating in Philosophy, and was awarded the post-graduate Fiske Scholarship from Harvard to Trinity College, Cambridge University. He began his career as an English teacher at Noble and Greenough School and at Exeter Summer School, and then received his law degree from Harvard Law School. He joined Ropes & Gray in 1979 for law practice until 2016.

The Handel and Haydn Society’s 2020–21 Season Performances include:

The Magic of Bach                             September 29, 2020                         Streaming online

The Magic of Vivaldi                          October 13, 2020                              Streaming online

Glories of the Baroque                      October 27, 2020                              Streaming online

Every Voice                                        November 8, 2020                            Streaming online

The Magic of Handel                         November 24, 2020                          Streaming online

Bach Christmas                                  December 17 20, 2020                  St. Cecilia Parish

Haydn Mozart                                January 22 24, 2021                       Symphony Hall

Mozart Great Mass                           February 5 7, 2021                         Symphony Hall

Beethoven Symphony No. 7             March 5 7, 2021                             Symphony Hall

Handel Israel in Egypt                       March 19 21, 2021                         Symphony Hall Sanders Theatre

Haydn The Creation                          April 30 May 2, 2021                      Symphony Hall

A broad offering of H H digital content can be found on the Watch Listen page of its website.

About the Handel and Haydn Society

Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society is dedicated to performing Baroque and Classical music with a freshness, a vitality, and a creativity that inspires all ages. H H has been captivating audiences for 206 consecutive seasons (the most of any performing arts organization in the United States). Today, H H’s Orchestra and Chorus delight more than 50,000 listeners annually with a nine-week subscription series at Boston Symphony Hall and other leading venues. Through the Karen S. and George D. Levy Education Program, H H supports seven youth choirs of singers in grades 2-12 and provides thousands of complimentary tickets to students and communities throughout Boston, ensuring the joy of music is accessible to all. H H’s numerous free community concerts include an annual commemoration of the original 1863 Emancipation Proclamation concert on December 31. The artistic director of the Handel and Haydn Society is Harry Christophers. Under Christophers’s leadership, H H has released 12 CDs on the Coro label and has toured nationally and internationally. In all these ways, H H fulfills its mission to inspire the intellect, touch the heart, elevate the soul, and connect us with our shared humanity through transformative experiences with Baroque and Classical music.

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