Dartington appoints John Woolrich as the new Artistic Director of the Dartington International Summer School

The Dartington Hall Trust announces the appointment of John Woolrich as the new Artistic Director of its world-renowned international music festival, the Dartington International Summer School.

This annual event has taken place on the Dartington Hall Estate every summer since 1953 and is held over five weeks in July and August. Each season, the Summer School attracts over 1,600 music-makers from across the globe, ranging in ability from beginners and amateurs right through to music students and world-class professionals. They are brought together at Dartington by a common desire to learn together and to make music outside the pressures of their daily lives, through a mix of workshops, master-classes and full-scale concerts, most of which are ticketed events open to the public.

John Woolrich is that rare combination of a highly creative teacher of music and a well-respected, frequently-performed composer. He is also one of the finest programmers in the classical sector and consequently occupies a significant position in contemporary musical life in the UK. 

His successful collaborations with the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group led to his appointment in the 2002/3 season as their Artistic Associate, and from 2004, he was Associate Artistic Director of the Aldeburgh Festival. In 1985, he founded the Composers Ensemble, of which he continues to be the driving force. He has also held a number of other senior programming positions including Composer in Association of the Britten Sinfonia (2001-2004).

“I am delighted to welcome John Wooolrich to Dartington as Artistic Director of the International Summer School,” said Vaughan Lindsay, Chief Executive Officer of The Trust.

“The Summer School is one of our most important activities. Not only does it offer a unique opportunity to all participants by bringing musicians of all types and abilities together, but just like other areas of The Trust’s activities, it pushes at the boundaries of what is generally accepted to be possible – and often goes beyond them. “

“In recruiting our new Artistic Director, we were looking not just for an experienced and creative programmer, but someone who understood the uniqueness of the Summer School and who could take it forward to the next stage of its development,” said David Francis, Director of the Arts at Dartington. “I am confident we have found just that person and very much look forward to working with him when he begins work with the team in March,” he added.

Commenting on his appointment, John Woolrich said, “I am absolutely thrilled to be joining Dartington as Artistic Director of the Dartington International Summer School. I have a long and close association with the Summer School going back 25 years and have been impressed with its evolution.

“It was at Dartington that my group, the Composers Ensemble, was first given the time, space and encouragement to experiment and develop, so I really do appreciate how important the opportunities are that the Summer School provides to participants, both in terms of structured playing and learning, as well as the non-structured opportunities, presented by chance meetings and informal networking amongst some of the world’s most promising musicians.

“My ambition is to build on the Summer School’s well-deserved reputation and to seek out new areas of music and incorporate new methods of musical education. I also want to ensure that we instil a commitment to creativity and excellence – at every level of technical ability – so that each one of our performances is memorable and extraordinary.

“I am also keen to develop greater community involvement and explore ways in which we can encourage closer collaboration with other areas of The Trust’s work in Sustainability, Social Justice and other aspects of the Arts.”

John Woolrich has been appointed on a three year contract for the 2011, 2012 and 2013 Summer Schools. Mr. Woolrich takes over from Gavin Henderson, who steps down after 26 years as Artistic Director at the end of August 2010, following this year’s Summer School.

“We want to say a special thank you to Gavin Henderson for his remarkable contribution and commitment to the Summer School. We will be celebrating his work at this year’s Summer School to recognize the enormous impact he has had on the musical lives of countless artists, composers and participants over the last 25 years,” said Vaughan Lindsay, Dartington’s CEO.

For more information please contact:
Rita Cummings, Director of Fundraising and Communications
rita.cummings@dartington.org

Mini-biography: John Woolrich

A much commissioned and frequently performed composer, a highly creative teacher and an original programmer, John Woolrich is an important figure in British musical life.  His successful collaborations with the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group led to his appointment in the 2002-03 season as their Artistic Associate, and from 2004 he has been the Associate Artistic Director of the Aldeburgh Festival. In 1991 he founded the Composers Ensemble, of which he continues to be the driving force.

A number of preoccupations thread through his varied output: the art of creative transcription (Ulysses Awakes, for instance, is a recomposition of a Monteverdi aria, and The Theatre Represents a Garden: Night – a work for the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment – is based on fragments of Mozart), a fascination with machinery and mechanical processes (heard in many pieces including The Ghost in the Machine and The Barber’s Timepiece), a love of song and a passionate interest in literature.

Throughout the 1990s, Woolrich had a string of prestigious orchestral commissions which resulted in some of his most important works: his concertos for viola, oboe and cello.  A CD of the viola and oboe concertos on the NMC label attracted particular attention and was acclaimed as the BBC’s ‘Record of the Week’.  Other orchestral pieces written during this period include The Ghost in the Machine, premiered in Japan with Andrew Davis and the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Si Va Facendo Notte which the Barbican Centre commissioned to celebrate the Mozart European Journey Project.  In 2001, Woolrich undertook a music theatre commission from Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and Trestle Theatre Company which resulted in Bitter Fruit, a masque for mime actors and ensemble.

Recent pieces include Between the Hammer and the Anvil for the London Sinfonietta, a violin concerto for the Northern Sinfonia featuring Carolin Widmann and a double-bassoon concerto commission by the Feeney Trust for the CBSO and Margaret Cookhorn. Woolrich was born in 1954 in Cirencester.

Source: www.fabermusic.co.uk