London Handel Festival announces Gregory Batsleer as new festival director

The London Handel Festival has today announced that Gregory Batsleer will take over as festival director, replacing Samir Savant, who stepped down at the end of July 2021. The new director will take responsibility for leading the programming, growth and development of the festival.

Richard Hopkin, chair of the London Handel Festival, said the festival board is ‘delighted we have chosen Greg to lead us forward to the next stage in the festival’s growth and development. From a very strong field of candidates, Greg impressed us most with his vision, passion and enthusiasm for the role. We are convinced that Greg is the right person to help us deliver Handel’s universal appeal both to our existing and new 21^st-century audiences.’

The festival’s Laurence Cummings, artistic director, added that she is ‘greatly looking forward to collaborating and working with Greg over the coming years. Greg brings new energy and vision to sharing Handel’s music in new and imaginative ways, whilst maintaining our joint desire and commitment to put on the best possible performances of his amazingly diverse and wide-ranging works.’

Batsleer has been working within the classical music industry for over a decade, and has created performances for organisations including the Southbank Centre, Wilderness Festival and Latitude. He was artistic director of the National Portrait Gallery’s ground-breaking Choir in Residence programme from 2012 to 2017, before moving on to co-found Future Stages, a charity dedicated to helping young people from disadvantaged backgrounds start a career in the performing arts. As well as co-founding and directing the Festival Voices, an ensemble dedicated to collaborations across art forms, he is also on the boards of the Piece Hall in Halifax and Manchester Camerata and has conducted ensembles throughout the UK including the chorus of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Huddersfield Choral Society.

Batsleer comments that he is ‘thrilled to have been appointed the new festival director of the London Handel Festival. Handel’s music has an extraordinary ability to inspire and speak to 21^st-century London. As we emerge from a cultural hibernation, I’m incredibly excited for what we can achieve. This will be a new and innovative chapter for the festival in which we aim to be the go-to destination for the performance of Handel’s music, and in turn contribute to London’s reputation for boundary-pushing creativity.’

The London Handel Festival concludes this week with Wednesday’s final of the International Handel Singing Competition. You can find out more about the London Handel Festival at their website.