Coram’s 20th annual Handel Birthday Concert raises £12,000 for vulnerable children

  • 1 March 2017

This year’s event featured a brand new opera inspired by the adventures of Casanova, with music by Handel, Vivaldi and their contemporaries arranged by conductor Julian Perkins.

200 guests attended the evening, with a total of £12,000 raised – vital funds to support Coram’s work with some of the UK’s most vulnerable children.

Handel was one of the first supporters of Coram, which was known, in his day, as the Foundling Hospital. By staging The Messiah every year from 1749 until his death, Handel raised a total of £7,000 (over a million pounds in today’s money) allowing the Foundling Hospital to continue to provide a home for vulnerable, abandoned children.

Our rich musical heritage continues today with our music therapy sessions to help children deal with feelings of loss, frustration and emotional trauma.

Thank you to Coram Life Governor Philippa Dodds John, organiser of the Handel Birthday Concert for the past 20 years, to our sponsors Ansvar Insurance and Rede Partners, and to Konditor & Cook for donating the Handel birthday cake.

Useful links

Find out more about Handel’s connection with Coram

Read more about our music and art therapy sessions for children and young people