M A R Y L A N D
Handel
F E S T I V A L
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
Paul Traver, Artistic Director
The Maryland Handel Festival (MHF) was founded in 1981 to focus attention on the
unjustly neglected musical masterpieces of George Frideric Handel. In 13 seasons the MHF
has presented a variety of choral, solo, chamber, opera and orchestral programs. Each
Festival has also included a substantial scholarly component of conference sessions,
lectures and pre-concert panel discussions offered free to the public.
The presence on the University of Maryland, College Park campus of a chorus
and conductor recognized for Baroque performance, the fact that a member of the music
faculty is an editor for the Hallische-Händel-Ausgabe, and the presence in the
University's musical library of the important Coopersmith Handel Collection suggested the
University as a logical locus for such a festival.
In 1982, the Directors set the MHF on an exciting and challenging course - to perform Handel's dramatic, English oratorios in the order of their composition and as Handel first presented them. This chronological traversal of the oratorios has provided professional performers and Handel scholars alike a rare opportunity and has led to the U.S. premiere of several of Handel's oratorios in their "first run" versions.
The roster of performers who have appeared on the MHF stage during its history include such Baroque specialists as Julianne Baird, John Aler, Lorraine Hunt, Trevor Pinnock, Gustav Leonhardt, Nicholas McGegan, Michael Chance and Derek Lee Ragin. The list of scholars who have presented papers and or lectures include such internationnaly recognized experts as Winton Dean, Jens Peter Larsen, Donald Burrows and a number of American scholars including Alfred Mann, J. Merrill Knapp, William Gudger and John Roberts.
The 2001 Maryland Handel Festival & Conference, which will feature performances of Theodora
(Friday, May 4) and Jephtha (Sunday, May 6), marks the conclusion of the
Festival's 20-year project of performing all Handel's English oratorios in order of
composition. To celebrate this achievement, we are planning a conference that we hope will
prove to be one of the largest gatherings of Handelians in recent years.
The conference, "Handel Studies in the New Millenium," will hopefully serve as a
guide to the future of Handel studies.
The Festival & Conference will take place May 3-6, 2001 in the new, state-of-the-art Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at
Maryland and will feature four conference sessions.
Click here for more information about the 2001 Festival & Conference.
Select one of the bolded links below to relive a year of the MHF
1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1992 | 1994 | 1996 | 1998 | 2000 | 2001
For more information about the MHF, please telephone :
301-405-5571
Box Office
301-405-5570
The Univ. of Maryland campus is easily accessible from Maryland, the District of Columbia and Virginia via I-95, the Capital Beltway (I-495), and Route 1. All concert locations provide free parking.
Last update : April 12, 2001
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