Aapo Häkkinen became Artistic Director of the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra in 2003. His authoritative knowledge and personal vision have clearly profiled the orchestra, and it has become one of the most interesting ensembles in Finnish musical life today. In 2009 Riccardo Minasi took the position of Associate Director.

The Helsinki Baroque Orchestra has appeared at the London Wigmore Hall, the Cologne Philharmonie, the Berlin Konzerthaus, and at the Helsinki, Turku, Bruges, Bayreuth, Dresden, Göttingen, Schwetzingen, Stockholm, Estella, Brezice, and Zagreb music festivals. Soloists and guest directors have included Enrico Baiano, Frieder Bernius, Patrick Gallois, Reinhard Goebel, Monica Groop, Pierre Hantaï, Erich Höbarth, María Cristina Kiehr, Manfredo Kraemer, Topi Lehtipuu, Enrico Onofri, and Skip Sempé.

The Helsinki Baroque Orchestra's uncompromising performances and recordings have contributed to their reputation as major exponents of Baltic and Scandinavian Baroque music. At home, their ground-breaking productions of Handel's and Haydn's operas have earned wide national recognition.