Founded during the burst of cultural optimism that followed the end of the second world war and saw the launch of so many British music festivals, the Dartington Summer School has continued more or less intact until the present day. Its emphasis may have tilted this way and that as artistic directors have come and gone, but the basic ethos of bringing together top-quality performers and composers to work with students and amateur musicians in concerts and classes in a relaxed, informal atmosphere has remained.
Dartington’s current artistic director is Sara Mohr-Pietsch, whose tenure began two years ago. Covid forced the cancellation of her first summer school in 2020, and also severely compromised plans for 2021, but this year it has all been able to run as she envisaged, with a different emphasis in each of its four weeks. Contemporary music was very much to the fore in the final week, with the soprano Juliet Fraser, pianist Rolf Hind, the Montreal-based Quatuor Bozzini and the composer Christopher Fox all in residence to work with young composers and performers, and to give public concerts.
