Dartington Summer School and Festival quits estate

The Dartington Summer School and Festival, which has taken place in south Devon for the past 75 years, will no longer take place on the historic Dartington estate, bosses say.

The event has attracted hundreds of professional and amateur musicians, but the estate trust said the event was "under review".

The artistic director and the summer school team had stepped down from their roles, said the trust.

The Dartington International Summer School Foundation, a charity that supports the event, said it would hold a summer school and festival in July 2024, but at a different venue that was not in the south-west of England.

The estate trust said in a statement: "Normally, at this point in the year, summer school would be taking priority bookings for 2024 and offering a preview of next year’s programme.

"But future plans and bookings for the Music Summer School and Festival are under review."

Artistic director Sara Mohr-Pietsch had "decided to step down from her role after a successful four-year tenure, as have the rest of the summer school team", it said.

The foundation said it had agreed to organise and operate a summer school and festival from 27 July to 10 August in an unnamed venue "not in the South West", it said in a statement.

It said: "The venue ... is very enthusiastic and we look forward to continuing to develop the summer school and festival in partnership with them.

"We hope that it may be possible to organise activity on the Dartington estate again at some point in the future."

The Dartington Hall estate, a centre for learning, ecology and the arts, was created in 1925 when American heiress Dorothy Elmhirst and husband Leonard bought the 1,200 acres (486 hectares) of land and buildings dating back to the 14th Century.

The BBC has approached the estate for comment.

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