BOSTON | The Handel + Haydn Society today announced that President & CEO David Snead will retire after nearly a decade at the helm of the performing arts organization. Under his leadership, H+H has recently been praised as “not just the oldest, but the finest historically informed orchestra in the nation” by the Boston Music Intelligencer and is admired for its artistic excellence and the vitality of its programs and performances. Snead has been instrumental in elevating H+H to national prominence through regular performances at major venues such as Lincoln Center and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As he has often said, “H+H doesn’t give great concerts because we’re 200 years old; we’re 200 years old because we give great concerts.”
“We have been very fortunate to have David’s leadership and have benefited from his passion for H+H’s mission and vision,” said Robert N. Shapiro, Chair of the Board. “He successfully led the search for our new Artistic Director, Jonathan Cohen, a choice that has been widely celebrated. David has also engaged existing supporters while leading efforts that have attracted new audiences to H+H and the world of Classical and Baroque music. We look forward to celebrating David and his achievements in the near future.”
Snead will retire in May after the final performance of the 2024-25 Season and will work with the Board in the weeks ahead to ensure a smooth leadership transition as the Board begins the process of searching for his successor. Long time board member and previous president, Robert H. Scott, will serve as Acting President, and COO Lilee Dethchan-Beltran will serve as Acting CEO, working in close collaboration with H+H’s executive leadership team.
“It has been one of the highest honors of my life, personally and professionally, to serve as CEO of H+H. I extend my heartfelt thanks to the musicians, the staff, the Board, our generous donors and the wonderful H+H audience. I also applaud the superb artistic directors with whom I have been privileged to work, Harry Christophers and now Jonathan Cohen. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have served the Handel and Haydn Society. I look forward to seeing what happens next at this remarkable institution.”
Snead came to H+H from the New York Philharmonic where he served as vice president of marketing, brand and customer experience for fourteen years. His 46-year career in the performing arts also included leadership positions at the Pittsburgh Symphony, Guthrie Theater, Minnesota Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony and Hartford Symphony. He has broadly served the classical music field, lecturing at Yale, New York University, Juilliard, Drexel, the Manhattan School of Music, Carnegie Mellon University and St. Olaf College, and presenting at numerous national and international conferences. His writings on arts management have appeared in Symphony magazine, Arts Reach, and American Theater. In 2021 Snead was named one of Musical America’s Top 30 Professionals of the Year.
“H+H prepares for the next chapter with an increased endowment, a strong executive leadership team in place, vibrant concerts attracting enthusiastic listeners, learning programs that make music accessible to an ever-broader audience, and the successful You Are The Music fundraising campaign, well underway,” said Robert H. Scott. “We are well positioned for an exciting future.”
About the Handel and Haydn Society
Boston’s Grammy-winning Handel and Haydn Society performs Baroque and Classical music with a freshness, a vitality, and a creativity that inspires all ages. Called “one of the most exciting ensembles of historically informed performances in the world” (OperaWire), H+H has been captivating audiences for 210 consecutive seasons (the most of any performing arts organization in the United States), speaking to its singular success at welcoming new audiences to this extraordinary music, generation after generation.
H+H performed the “Hallelujah” Chorus from Handel’s Messiah in its first concert in 1815, gave the American premiere in 1818, and ever since has been both a musical and a civic leader in the Boston community. During the Civil War, H+H gave numerous concerts in support of the Union Army (H+H member Julia Ward Howe wrote “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”) and on January 1, 1863, H+H performed at the Grand Jubilee Concert celebrating the enactment of the Emancipation Proclamation. Two years later, H+H performed at the memorial service for Abraham Lincoln.
H+H’s Orchestra and Chorus delight more than 76,000 listeners annually through concerts at Symphony Hall and other leading venues as well as radio broadcasts. Through the Karen S. and George D. Levy Learning and 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 provides deeply discounted tickets and hosts special events for undergraduate students and concertgoers under 40 through the H+H Masterpass and H² membership programs. H+H has released 16 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 all of us with our shared humanity through transformative experiences with Baroque and Classical music.