The Summer School of Music, held initially at Bryanston in Dorset before it found its permanent home at Dartington, was the most exciting and imaginative music education institution in post-war Britain. It brought great musicians from around the world to teach and perform music ranging from the fourteenth century to the present day. After the isolation and restriction of the war years, the new mobility and diversity of the Summer School made it a uniquely stimulating meeting ground of musical ideas.

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Use the links below to search the programmes of the earliest years of the Summer School. Explore what music was played and who was teaching and performing it, from the foundation of the Summer School in 1948 until 1953, the year of its arrival at Dartington.

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