dartington international summer school 2006 a great success Latest News
Dartington International Summer School
Annual Report 2006 by Gavin Henderson CBE
In many ways, the 2006 Summer School at Dartington could be considered the most successful to date. For the first time (in at least thirty years!) it was, to all intents and purposes, sold out before it began.
There were many highlights – with the introduction of SAMYO and TARANG (the South Asian Music Youth Orchestra, and its ‘older’ counterpart) bringing their own Summer School to be integrated with the Dartington programme (supported by Youth Music). This represented a major development – building on Dartington’s own heritage of Indian music and dance, and the influence of Tagore in particular. A programme of related lectures, discussions and films greatly enriched this endeavour. It is an aspect of programming which we hope will continue at Dartington – year round, as well as in the Summer School. Another very moving historical connection was built around the preparation and performance of Bach’s B Minor Mass – reflecting on Imogen Holst’s performance of 1950, with a number of those taking part having been in that ‘Holst performance’ – soloists Rosamund Strode and Noelle Barker amongst them. It was fascinating to see how orchestral playing had been enhanced, from an ad hoc ‘modern’ band (with clarinets instead of trumpets) in 1950, to an all ‘period instrument’, all student, orchestra in 2006 with natural trumpets played ‘no holes’ for the first time in the UK. It was a remarkable achievement for the Summer School Choir to put together in one week.
We try not to build programmes around anniversaries as a rule, but Mozart and Shostakovich seemed unavoidable in 2006. For Shostakovich we built a sequence of interlinked commissions of ‘variations upon a theme’ as a celebration not only of Shostakovich, but of the two Russian families that have been artists truly in residence at Dartington: the Shoots, and the Firsova-Smirnovs (who also taught the advanced composition class to great effect). It was a unique manifestation of a period at Dartington, which may in time be recalled as we do such involvements of Chekhov, Jooss, Laban, Tobey and Heckroth – the ‘Russian Years’.
Shostakovich himself was represented by quite extraordinary performance of the 14th Symphony, the 1st Cello Concerto and Quartets 3 and 8 – all leaving a deeply profound impression. The Dartington Festival Orchestra reached extraordinary heights – not only in Shostakovich, but also in Zemlinksy’s Lyric Symphony. Diego Masson and the DFO have become a real phenomenon, with a pool of loyal and devoted players coming back year on year. The Zemlinsky strand (3rd Quartet as well) has underpinned a continuing point of reference for Jewish music and culture, which was enriched by Norman Lebrecht’s talks and Simon Dearsley’s ‘Tin Pan Alley’ reverie. The anchor of Zemlinksy and Janacek’s meeting in Prague with Tagore proved a fascinating focus – almost as though they had been cooking ideas in advance of a Dartington ideal!
New music – and composition workshops especially, form a backbone to the Summer School – for which bursary and scholarship support is crucial. The Smirnov-Firsova class had high profile – but so too three unusual courses brought together in the final week: computer-based composition, ‘found’/environmental composition, and composition for newly created instruments. The season began with the film composition class (based on a Bollywood feature-tragedy) and Rock Shop’s songwriting (producing over 80 new songs) closed the Summer School. A great deal of new work was created in the jazz programme directed by Keith Tippett and Lewis Riley – it is too easy to forget that improvisation is in effect composition. All in all, some 120 new works were created for, or at, the Summer School.
The Rock Shop, Jazz and Light orchestra bring together the widest cross-section of ages in participation – from 10 to 90 years of age, all playing together and socialising on equal terms. A danger must exist in streaming activity into age profiles. Nonetheless, it was heartening to see the Youth Summer programme take a big leap forward at KEVIC in 2006. More needs to be done to develop a sense of integration with DISS and KEVIC, and this must not bring about compromise (creative chloroform if ever), but seeing the vitality and high spirits and general sociability of the Salsa, Tango and Viennese Balls – one could see ways of extending the Summer School’s ‘reach’.
It was pleasing to be back at Bogan House in Totnes, where some of the excellent students have the opportunity of giving lunchtime concerts; so too there were very special concerts at St John’s Church, Bridgetown. We are grateful to all who make these possible, and see potential for taking other Summer School activity ‘off the estate’.
Mozart enriched us in so many ways, but the focus on wind music and wind concertos (with the excellent Trinity College Orchestra) and the production of the Magic Flute, which many felt could grace the stage of an established opera house with real distinction, were notable ‘landmarks’.
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