London Handel Festival Announces New Artistic Residency

Arcangelo will become the festival’s first Principal Ensemble in Residence and Jonathan Cohen will serve as Artistic Adviser 

As of 2025, the acclaimed period performance ensemble Arcangelo will take up residence at the London Handel Festival; the ensemble’s founder and artistic director Jonathan Cohen will join the Festival as its new Artistic Adviser.

In the new role, Arcangelo will perform several concerts throughout each Festival, including a flagship performance of a major work, a chamber recital with international soloists, plus a showcase of young artists in an annual recital with members of its Arcangelo New Ensemblists program.

Additionally, the ensemble will lead a growing international portfolio of guest artists and ensembles performing at the London Handel Festival including the London Handel Orchestra. This initiative also aligns with the Festival’s recent expansion of its Opera Studio and the launch of a year-round Creative Learning program.

As artistic advisor, Cohen will work alongside the Festival’s director Gregory Batsleer to collaborate on the organization’s artistic vision and international standing as a centerpiece for performing Handel’s music; the two recent appointments follow Laurence Cummings’ recent departure after a 25-year tenure as the Festival’s Musical Director. 

Arcangelo was the first named Baroque Ensemble in Residence at Wigmore Hall, where it maintains a close ongoing artistic relationship. With an award-winning discography of 30 releases, Arcangelo has previously performed at the BBC Proms, Carnegie Hall, Snape Maltings, MA Festival Brugge, Dresden Arts Festival, Tonhalle Zurich, and Philharmonie Koeln. 

A conductor, cellist, and keyboardist, Cohen is the new Artistic Director of the Handel and Haydn Society, alongside other roles such as Music Director of Les Violons du Roy, and Artistic Director of Tetbury Festival. This season has seen Cohen conduct the Budapest Festival Orchestra, Kammerorchester Basel, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liege, and Hessischer Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester. 

“This is an exciting time for the London Handel Festival. The 2024 season has been our best yet. I am particularly excited we’re now able to announce this major new collaboration for the Festival,” Batsleer said in the press release. “Working with artists with the reputation of Jonathan and Arcangelo ensures that the London Handel Festival places world-class music-making right at the heart of its programming. I’ve no doubt that together we will continue to enhance the Festival’s reputation as the globally recognised destination for the finest performances of Handel’s music.”  

“I am delighted to open this new chapter for Arcangelo at the London Handel Festival, and at the opportunities it brings to champion more of Handel’s endlessly glorious music with great musicians and artists,” Cohen expressed. “I am looking forward to working with Greg and the LHF team, and to everything that we can achieve together to carry forward all of Laurence’s superb and dedicated work with the LHO and so many musicians over the years.” 

“This is a great moment: Handel’s powerful music is ever more central to our cultural lives, and it is ideal that two organizations with such a commitment to musical excellence are now coming together,” added Arcangelo’s chair, Sir Nicholas Kenyon. “Arcangelo looks forward to working with the London Handel Festival as we take Handel’s music to increasingly wide audiences.”  

“Following on from our much-acclaimed 2024 Festival, this major new collaboration is great news for the Festival and for the music of Handel,” said Richard Hopkin, chair of the London Handel Festival. “Hosting yet more first-class talent at the Festival confirms our growing ambitions and I am looking forward to new and invigorating interpretations of Handel’s works in the coming years.”