Dear Sir or Madam, dear members of the Handel Society!
The Handel House Foundation announced on 8 April 2021 that the Handel Festival 2021 in Halle has now also been cancelled. This comes as no surprise in view of the still dangerous and all-dominating pandemic situation; nevertheless, we had hoped that there would not have to be another cancellation this year. We thank Festival Director Clemens Birnbaum and his staff at the Handel House Foundation for their enthusiasm and ideas for the Festival 2021. We will join them in campaigning for a successful Handel Festival in Halle in 2022 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the festival!
The Presidium of the Georg Friedrich Handel Society has decided as follows:
- The General Meeting 2021 will be cancelled. The reports of the President, the Treasurer and the Audit Commission will be sent to the members in writing, discussion and voting will take place at the General Meeting 2022. A letter regarding this will be sent to all members shortly.
- The get-together of the Handel Societies is cancelled again this year. We hope we can welcome you next year!
- The Festival Lecture by Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Andreas Waczkat, Göttingen, has also been cancelled as an event of the Handel Festival. The Handel Society is actually working on a video format in consultation with Prof. Waczkat.
- The International Academic Conference Redemption and Modern Age. Handel’s Messiah between the late 18th and the 21st Century will take place on the planned date as a video event. Interested participants are welcome to attend! We will inform you about the further details on our website.
We wish you good health, please keep your courage in this difficult time!
On behalf of the Presidium and the office,
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Hirschmann, President