A five-week combined music festival and summer school, Dartington provides an opportunity for amateurs of all ages and abilities to mingle with professional musicians and composers.

World-class musicians hold masterclasses and workshops each week. Tutors for the 2004 summer school included Emma Kirkby, Stephen Kovacevich, Diego Masson, Pavel Novak, Keith Tippett, Karine Georgian, Sir Richard Armstrong, Herbie Flowers, Esther Salaman, David Titterington, Matthew Trusler, Emanuel Hurwitz, The Dufay Collective, Ex Cathedra, Ensemble Bash, and many more.

Dartington International Summer School offers great diversity in over fifty major courses spanning the whole of the western musical repertoire as well as music from other cultures, from Viol Consorts and Early Brass to African & Gospel Choir, Gamelan, Film Music Composition and Jazz Improvisation. There are also masterclasses, workshops and exhibitions, all complemented by over one hundred concerts.