About Us
Passion for music
The Summer School Foundation is an independent charity (reg.272163), first established in 1976.
Until 2023 The Summer School Foundation (formerly The Dartington International Summer School Foundation) worked to support and develop the Dartington International Summer School and Festival, and subsequently the Dartington Music Summer School and Festival. We achieved this, thanks to the generous support of our donors and supporters, by providing bursaries for talented young musicians and teachers, enabling them to attend the Summer School; providing funding to establish new courses at the Summer School; supporting capital improvement works at Dartington; providing funds to help underwrite the core staff and operational costs of the Summer School; and providing advice and support to the Summer School team.
The Summer School Foundation has also worked to ensure the legacy of the Summer School is preserved and celebrated, having created the Summer School archive and, most recently, having placed this in the care of the British Library.
In 2023 the Foundation set out to secure the future of the Summer School at a new location. We are delighted to have found a wonderful setting at Gresham’s School in stunning North Norfolk.
The Music Summer School
and Festival will operate from 2nd to 16th August 2025 at Gresham’s School, Holt, Norfolk.
Gresham’s (which counts Benjamin Britten, Lennox Berkeley and W H Auden amongst its alumni) provides a fabulous base for the Summer School, with stunning performance and rehearsal facilities along with relaxing and comfortable residential accommodation for participants, all surrounded by beautiful grounds and woodlands. The picturesque Georgian market town of Holt is less than 10 minutes walk from the school whilst the North Norfolk coast is just 4 miles away.
Concerts, talks and events take place every day throughout The Music Summer School and Festival, across a range of different spaces including the Auden Theatre, the Fishmongers’ Recital Hall in the Britten Music Building, the Dyson Building, the Chapel, and the wonderfully atmospheric outdoor Theatre in the Woods.
The Music Summer School and Festival features a range of courses for participants including Choir, Vocal Ensembles and Chamber Choir, Opera Scenes, Improvisation, Chamber Music, Baroque Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, String Ensemble, Early Music, Composition, Instrumental and Vocal Workshops and Masterclasses and much more.