issue 27 spring ’06
life after
dartington
the newsletter of the dartington college of arts association
editorial e j.woodcock@dartington.ac.uk Dartington said farewell to one of its oldest members of staff when Bram Bartlett’s funeral was held on 5 October 2005. Bram had worked at Dartington since 1949. We send Mary and their daughters deepest sympathies on behalf of all who knew Bram. To obtain further copies or for more information about the Association please contact the Editor.
issue number 2 7
contents from london to st. petersburg on a bicycle
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spring 2006 newsletter Dartington College of Arts Association this newsletter is produced at: Dartington College of Arts, Totnes, Devon TQ9 6EJ t 01803 862224 f 01803 861666
the triangle club
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graduation & awards ceremony 6/7
editor Jo Woodcock design Sue Snell, Scriveners print Nick Walker Print cover picture: l to r: 2005 theatre graduates Helen Phillips, Helen Yates, Jo Amphlet, Stephen Candy & Dugald Ferguson in performance during Presence 05 photo : Kate Mount The views expressed in articles are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Dartington College of Arts or the DCA Association.
the work of aune head arts
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the first students reunited
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cinders mcleod cartoon where are they now?
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news in brief
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On midsummer's day 2005, a reunion took place of a group of people who had arrived at Dartington even before Bram did. They were the very first students at Dartington, arriving in the early 1940s to study music with Imogen Holst. Their reunion prompted Mary Lawrenson Potter to write a few words on what it was like to be at Dartington in those days. Sam Alty left Dartington only last year, after which he cycled from London to Russia and, even though the ending was not quite what he expected, he survived to tell the tale. Ting Randle has spent years working with small children and developing a technique which became the Triangle Club. Ting collaborated with photographer Catherine Hudson, another Dartington graduate, to produce a book describing the technique, as an encouragement to others. Richard Povall and Nancy Sinclair are Aune Head Arts, the only organisation to be a Creative Enterprise Fellow at the College. Richard tells how this came about and describes the work of Aune Head Arts. The Graduation and Awards Ceremony has, out of necessity, become a day-long event, divided into two ceremonies but giving graduates a chance to meet over a long lunch. Two members of staff receiving awards this year were Teresa Grimaldi, awarded an MA in Visual Performance, and John Hall, awarded a PhD by staff candidature on the basis of published works. Congratulations to them, and to all the class of 2005. Happy reading, Jo Woodcock
from london to st. petersburg on a bicycle In my final year at Dartington College of Arts in 2004 I became acquainted with a man who was helping to organise a conference called “a week for the environment”, to be held in June 2005 in St. Petersburg, Russia. In a flash of inspiration whilst conversing about the conference I wondered about making a sound installation created from the sounds of extinct animals. He thought it was a good idea. After an interim period I decided that I would follow through with the inspiration and make it happen. I thought that there must be several animals that had become extinct since the development of sound recording. I researched all the resources I could think of and came across the ‘Po’ouli’, a bird from Hawaii. I later found out that the American Environmental Defence Fund calls Hawaii “the global epicentre of extinction and endangerment”. The sad thing about the ‘Po’ouli’ is that Betsy Gagne, the person who discovered this bird when she was a student in the 70s, has now outlived her discovery, as reports confirm that the last ‘Po’ouli’ died in November 2004, which was also after my conception of the project. My goal for the installation was to raise the important question of extinction, not making a judgement, but raising awareness of it as a topic for reflection and discussion. I decided to focus just on one creature, which became the ‘Po’ouli’. I thought that I would inform the audience that what they were hearing was the recording of a bird no longer in existence, but omit the name and usual fact file of when, how and why the bird became extinct. I wanted to allow for that mysteriousness and sense of intimacy which we experience when we seem something familiar, for example the silhouette of a human, but without the details which we usually use to inform our separateness. I felt that this sense of mysteriousness and intimacy would induce a positive state of mind in which to discuss extinction, and to consider our place in this environment. Once I had decided that I was definitely going
to the conference to create this installation, I thought about the very practical idea of h o w I w a s g o i n g t o g e t t h e r e . Fr o m experience I prefer to travel slowly so that ruled out flying. I was very inspired by a friend of mine who was preparing to cycle to Japan from London. I decided there was no better way to travel to an environmental conference then by bicycle. The next practical problem was actually acquiring a bicycle, and also learning how to maintain it, if and when things went wrong. Both aims were achieved by building my own bicycle out of recycled parts, in the Walthamstow Bike Recycling Project in North East London. A very dear friend, Prinul Patel, decided to join me, and the two of us cycled across Europe leaving on the 1st of May. We travelled through England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and finnally into St. Petersburg, Russia. We completed the trip in 7 weeks, sleeping in a tent, occasionally knocking on peoples’ doors and enjoying the generosity of kind and curious people on the way. As a morning meditation we created an image of the ‘Po’ouli’ in each place we camped, feeling that, in our own humble way, we were showing the spirit of the ‘Po’ouli’ across Europe. The cycle trip itself was fantastic. It has been one of the few times in my life where I have felt sure of my convictions. All my mental, physical, and spiritual facets were unified into one goal, which was clear and tangible. Unfortunately, the conference itself was less tangible. The person in St. Petersburg with whom I had been in communication stopped emailing me, which resulted in our arriving in that city without any idea of where the conference was being held! As luck would have it though, we joined up with a group of artists who were renting for cheap a nearly derelict palace looking out over the river Neva. There we created the installation, and finally the Po’ouli was allowed to sing in St. Petersburg.
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Sam Alty explains how and why he found himself cycling across the breadth of Europe to create a sound installation for an environmental conference in Russia.
the triangle club
Ting Randle discovered soon after graduating that she wanted to work with young children. She devised a music scheme which she insists anyone can teach, and which she describes in her book, Triangle Club.
I graduated from Dartington in 1992 and immediately found a job at Greylands Prep School in Paignton as class music teacher. Greylands doesn’t exist anymore. I was there until 2002, though I had moved to Wells in 1999 as my daughters had been given scholarships to study the piano at Wells Cathedral School. I kept commuting back and forth until the school closed. I had become interested in the teaching of young children quite soon after graduating: how they learn, what interests them, what moves them to become bright, happy human beings. In my second year at Dartington I remember going, together with some other students and Yon, who was then one of our tutors, on a placement to Bidwell Brook School, to see how music can benefit children. All children have special needs, some more pronounced than others, but music really does seem to reach the place other disciplines don’t quite reach. Music is something so special. It has a magic. Knowledge of it appears to be embedded in our make-up. This means that everyone can respond to music, making it an easy subject to teach. Even if you feel you are not qualified to teach music, actually you can! I wonder how many of you agree with this? I am not suggesting that you will be able to teach at advanced levels, or in great depth, but I was able to see that for early years training I could facilitate and make
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possible a scheme which anyone could teach. Not only that, but I could see that the teaching could be of a quality which would enable the child to develop every aspect of its musical being. This was the very reason I wrote my book about the Triangle Club. Whilst still living in Devon I had been asked to teach young children at a Saturday morning club at Paignton Community College, where I was also teaching children to play keyboards. Alan Morris, Director of Music at the school, had an idea for young children which would give them some skills and therefore make it easier for them to learn an instrument later on. He named it The Triangle Club. Over the next few years I taught large numbers of young children. When I moved to Wells I set up the club here, through Community Education, and more recently through Adult Learning & Leisure. I found that I was being asked more and more to go into schools, to teach my scheme to the teachers. This worked well. The book is fortunate to have a foreword by Dame Janet Ritterman, then Director of the Royal College of Music, and former Principal of Dartington College of Arts. She not only gave the book a wonderful foreword but also gave me advice about it. I am very grateful to Janet for her contribution. The book is very much a thing born out of Dartington. I feel I want to write about Dartington’s influence, its magic, the power it has of awakening something in each of its students which stays with them, but those of you reading this will already know about the unique education Dartington imparts. I feel a deep sense of gratitude to Dartington, to the place and to all the people I met there. The next step for the book is promoting it. Oliver Davey, who is a music advisor for Kent, is hoping to promote it ad CPD days and
Early Years Training Days. Another music advisor is hoping to do the same thing in her schools. I am hoping to forward information to all Teacher Training Colleges and LEAs. Information about the book can be viewed on www.childcarelink.gov.uk/somerset I hope that early years teachers will use this music scheme to give to their children a taste of something which will enhance their lives. Time, as they say, will tell. I first met Ting at a party where, during the course of conversation, we discovered we had both been at Dartington. Ting had studied in the music department just a few years before whilst I had studied theatre when Colette King was Head of Department. We both had many happy memories of our time there. I think I was lucky to be in a really good year with some very talented people who were also fun to be with. It wasn’t all stress free. I remember our first movement session being a baptism of fire as we were asked to crawl over a roomful of people, of both sexes, whom I had only just met. One of the key things Ting and I valued about our time at Dartington, apart from the people and the beautiful surroundings, was that we were encouraged to value our individuality. I was taught to generate my own ideas and work. This stood me in good stead in my subsequent work as an actress and gave me some security in a very insecure profession. I worked for many small companies, both independent and commercial. It was challenging and exiting to adapt working methods to fit in with other people’s different starting points and perceptions. I also had my own theatre company for a short while, acting, writing, directing and producing new work. In lean times my teaching qualification, from Rolle College, Exmouth, was helpful. I did supply teaching in inner London schools. A great place to learn how to capture pupils’ interest quickly or have a miserable day. A passion to communicate is something I recognised in Ting. I had used theatre as a medium to convey the things I felt passionately about. When Ting talked about her book I knew she was utterly committed to bringing music to children in a way that she believed would enhance the whole of their lives. By the time I met Ting I had left acting. It was a decision I had made with much regret but my migraines were increasing in number and family life occupying more of my time. I needed another creative outlet so I took the Foundation Course in Art and Design at Bath College and discovered my love of photography.
Catherine Hudson (née Barrett), also an ex-student of Dartington, took the photographs which illustrate Triangle Club, Ting saw one of my early exhibitions and asked me if I would take photographs for her book. I wasn’t a specialist por trait photographer and I didn’t usually take pictures of children. However Ting had a very clear idea of what she wanted. She was not looking for posed pictures but for something far more spontaneous. She wanted to show ordinary children, in an ordinary environment, discovering a new world of music. It was important to her that anyone could teach her methods without specialist knowledge or a well-equipped room. It was wonderful seeing Ting work with the children. They loved being with her and I saw how the structure of the scheme worked. It was a great experience and I feel ver y privileged that Ting asked me to be involved with her book. A few years ago I went to a Dartington reunion for my year. I think we were all apprehensive about going. How would our lives post Dartington be judged? It was a good evening. Some people were still in theatre some not. There was great warmth. We were able to recognise achievements in many spheres. It was good to be among people who had not lost their ideals. They didn’t measure success or creativity in terms of money or status. They were still excited by life and full of ideas. If anyone had asked me to go back to Studio 1 and begin working together again I would have been delighted. Ar t permeates the whole of life and Dartington taught me that. We should all question, explore and enjoy this complex world we’re in. I am so glad I had the opportunity to go to Dartington and very glad that I met Ting. She is an inspiration and a good friend. Her book is a gift.
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some of which are included here.
l to r: Steven Candy, Joseph Amphlett, Dugald Ferguson, Charlotte Smith, Davy McGuire, Helen Yates, Tiiu Mortley, Daniel Schamroth Gillian Wormley & son, Ryan Walker
For Gillian Wormley, the graduation of her son, Ryan Walker, was the final link in their personal Dartington chain. Gillian studied music at Dartington in the 1970s. Her teacher, Eileen Rose, who had been one of Michael Lane’s first students a decade earlier, had suggested she apply. Gillian had never seen Dartington before she arrived for her interview. ‘The moment I arrived I fell in love with the ethos and the atmosphere.’ When Ryan arrived at Dartington it felt like the start of a holiday, as Gillian had been bringing him on visits since he was a child. By the end of the summer of 2002 Ryan was undecided as to where he should go for further study, even though he had applied to and been offered a place by another college. Gillian, an international opera singer, had been performing at the Edinburgh festival that year and between shows she and Ryan talked about his future. She suggested that he might consider Dartington. Ryan was one of the last applicants that year, arriving only a few days later for an audition with Joe Richards. After the ceremony Gillian and Ryan compared their experiences. Gillian’s musical training had often taken her into the Great Hall, where she had rehearsed, performed and often watched other people’s performances. Graduation had been Ryan’s first experience of doing anything inside the Great Hall. His theatre work had been mostly studio-based. Gillian remembers a certain amount of contact with people on other courses; Ryan had often worked with writers and musicians as part of his course, ‘in fact, I did my CEP (Contextual Enquiry Project) with two writing students.’ Gillian says of the skills she learnt at Dartington ‘Those experiences are never forgotten. I still use the basic skills I learnt at Dartington. In fact, I still use my student logbooks for reference.’ Ryan feels it is still too early to reflect on exactly what Dartington has given him. He feels he could have made more use of his first year - ‘Too much socialising!’ – and found it a struggle to discipline himself, though he did have a great sense of satisfaction at having graduated. Gillian felt that the graduation ceremony gave her a chance once more to be ‘on the inside’, discovering that, for her, the place has never lost its hold. She is already planning on returning for a reunion next year.
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graduation & awards ceremony 2005
Lisa Colledge (centre) with her partner (left) Wendy Pullinger and friend (and ex-Dartington student) Jennifer Bertilli
Two former music graduates awarded PhDs
Paul Mumford with his mother, Marie Mumford
Tim sayer with his wife Marea, also a Dartington graduate, and their sons Jacob (left) and Aaron
l to r: Paul Seckel, Jehan Abdel-Malak (stage 2 student), David Armstrong, Peter Butler, Matthew Woolgar
Music by College students marked the opening and closing of the 2005 Graduation and Awards Ceremonies on 5 November. The all-female, a capella group ‘Bird’ sang their own arrangements of African songs, providing a reflective start to the processional, whilst the College Samba Band ‘Aquabata’, led by Colin Seddon, proved to be suitably explosive, continuing to play in the Courtyard long after the end of each ceremony. Two honorary degrees were conferred, the first on Kristine Stiles, a leading American art historian and theorist in contemporary art practices, who was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Arts. Kristine’s research for her PhD in 1987 focused on the artist Gustav Metzger’s 1966 ‘Destruction in Art Symposium’. Gustav Metzger, who is an Honorary Fellow of Dartington College of Arts, was present at the ceremony. Rob La Frenais, Curator of Arts Catalyst, the London-based arts and science agency, also received an Honorary Doctorate of Arts. Arts Catalyst have been sending artists into zero-gravity with the Russian Space Agency at Star City, and recently won a bid to manage the cultural programme for the International Space Station. Rob has an on-going connection with the College as a Visiting Tutor and is planning to run a spaceship-building workshop with students next year: www.artscatalyst.org The Principal’s address concluded with particular words of advice to the graduates: “Take risks, light the blue touch-paper, but don’t retire just yet. Stay true to yourselves, true to your practice, and to the world before you. And have fun.”
John Hall, awarded a PhD by staff candidature on the basis of published works
Gustav Metzger, Kristine Stiles
Emile Bennet & Arthur Mazzer
Margaret Elgin & Linda Dean
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Aune Head Arts is a multiplatform arts organisation based on Dartmoor, whose work focuses on commissioning and producing contemporary artworks within a rural context. AHA is a Creative
Kirsty Waterworth and Beth Hamer at Runnage, with Phil Coaker
Enterprise Fellow
the work of
at the Centre for Creative
aune head arts
Enterprise & Participation (CCEP) at Dartington, the first organisation ever to be hired into an academic post at Dartington. The work for CCEP is shared by AHA’s two directors, Richard Povall and Nancy Sinclair. Richard explains more about the work of Aune Head Arts.
Photo Jennie Hayes
I graduated from Dartington in 1977, one of the very first cohort of degree students. There were only six of us, all studying on the Music BA, the first degree that Dartington offered. It was an extraordinary time to be at Dartington, and I felt very privileged to be taking part in this experiment. Some people, staff and students alike, thought we all had horns, and that degree work was going to be the death of the place… (When I came back to Dartington in 1994 as its first Research Fellow, some people thought I still had horns. I polish them from time to time.) I am co-director of two companies: as well as working with Aune Head Arts, I also codirect half/angel, a company based primarily in Ireland. We’ve been incredibly busy in the past couple of years, having received two large commissions from Cork 2005: European Capital of Culture – but that’s a topic for another day and another ar ticle. See www.halfangel.ie if you want to know more. Although I taught fulltime in academia for 10 years, I gave all that up in 2000 and am now a fulltime composer (and manager!). Aune Head Arts (AHA) began in 1997, just after I had completed my two-year Research Fellowship at Dartington, having been in the
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US from 1982 until 1994. During that time, I had met and married Nancy, and she had fallen completely in love with Devon, and in particular Dartmoor, during the time we lived here during my fellowship. At the end of that time, I had been offered a job in the US that I couldn’t refuse - an Associate Professorship at Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where I was ultimately to become Director of Contemporar y Music. The die was cast, however, and Nancy and I both knew that we had to return to Dartmoor, for good. AHA gave us the impetus to do just that. Since then, AHA has grown (not always without pain), has attracted significant funding (not always without pain) and has produced some fabulous projects on Dartmoor (not always without pain!). We always wanted, however, to be genuinely based on the moor: we strive to be an arts organisation that makes contemporary work, not always easy or accessible, that is able to speak to the people about whom (and to some extent, for whom) this work is made. Perhaps in the best Dar tington “social context” tradition, AHA wants to make challenging work, with artists from outside the region as well as local artists, and to feel
very embedded in the communities in which we work; to work slowly and gently and sensitively with those communities before launching a new project. Whilst rural communities are really very cosmopolitan and sophisticated these days, particularly in the era of high property prices and the rise of the incomer, artists can still be seen as strange and unusual beings - par ticularly contemporary artists who are speaking a visual or performance language that is not immediately recognisable or comfortable. A recently-completed project perhaps best outlines what I’m talking about. In 2003 we began a project called Focus on Farmers, that was to place three “lead” (ie professional) artists and three apprentice (early-career or pre-professional) artists onto three Dartmoor farms. Before we launched the project, Beaford Arts (another Dartington offshoot, in North Devon) asked if they could join us, with a fourth artist/farm team, this time on Exmoor. We were delighted to begin what has become a ver y fruitful long-term relationship with Beaford, and added in the fourth team. The artists’ brief was wide open: live on the farm for a total of 30 days during the project period, and make some work! The apprentice artists had a similar brief, although we explicitly said that they were under no pressure to produce finished work (nor were they paid to do so, unlike the lead artists). Our four lead artists (a sound artist, a photographer, a videomaker/installation artist, and a filmmaker) came from all over the country, and the four apprentice artists (a poet, a textile artist, a sound artist, and a sculptor) came from across the region. In the end, an extraordinary array of work was made. More importantly, however, almost all the artists became accepted as members of
their farm families, and almost all became free farm labourers! There was, however, a genuine exchange of ideas and a mutual unloading of misapprehensions about what farmers and artists do. Quite a few of the artists were vegetarians, and yet were living alongside, and working with, farmers who produced meat for their livelihoods. I think many of the artists were genuinely and agreeably surprised by the relationships farmers have with their animals, and how deeply they care about them, whilst knowing that, at the end of the day, they will go to market to be slaughtered and sold for meat. The seemingly irreconcilable began to make some sense. At the same time, many of the farmers finished the project with a new appreciation for the working life of the artists. “Now I know that when Tania is sitting on a stone wall staring into the distance, she is really working” said one, without a trace of irony (I think!). In the end, the project lasted far longer that it should have, produced far more work than it should have, toured all over Devon (thanks again to Beaford who booked it into many North Devon and West Somerset venues, and took care of all the touring production work). The exhibition was seen by more than 40,000 people in venues ranging from a medieval barn to a city ar t galler y to numerous village halls, snippets appeared on BBC TV and Radio, and it all felt rather overwhelmingly successful. AHA has grown into an organisation with four staff, its own office space, and a studio, and has become a trusted and respected member of the Dartmoor community. Our rather sadly out of date website can be found at www.auneheadar ts.org.uk. We can be contacted at info@auneheadarts.org.uk.
Rah Rivers at the opening of Focus on Farmers exhibition at Buckland Abbey
Photo AHA
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first students reunited Mary Lawrenson Potter recalls what it was like in those early days. 'On midsummers's day 2005, a few very special people met for lunch at Dartington. These included the four very first Dartington music students, who began their studies in the early 1940s: Mary Lawrenson Potter (nee Williams), Gordon Hadden, Joan Pendered (nee Crispin), Esther Smith (nee Finch) and Heather Williams (1944-45).'
photograph above from left to right Gordon Hadden, Margaret Wickens (piano teacher), Esther Finch, Imogen Holst, Mary Williams, Joan Crispen, Alan Fuller (who came a term later) photograph right Heather Williams,
In summer 1943, as I was about to leave school, we were summoned to the Headmistress' study of Totnes (then) County School, 'we' being any girls who were musical. Leonard and Dorothy Elmhirst were offering us scholarships to study for a year at Dartington with Imogen Holst (Gustav Holsts's daughter). Joan Crispin and I were the only two who accepted. Joan played the organ and the piano. I sang and played the piano. Joan and I met 'Imo', as we came to call her, at the railway station, together with the other students - Esther Finch from Barry, a flautist and pianist, and Gordon Hadden from Bridgwater, who played the trumpet, the piano... in fact, just about everything. We walked up to the Hall, had an audition and were shown around. All four of us were accepted, after which we sang and made music all day long. We soon came to love Imo. She had hoped to be a ballet dancer but phlebitis prevented this career. However, whenever she conducted or lectured, she used to 'dance' most of the time! She was an inspiring teacher of piano, orchestration and composition. Our scholarship included board and lodging, travel and ten shillings a week, plus free tuition, and I remember Imo writing open string parts for us so we could join in the orchestra. Dorothy and Leonard would join us in the White Hart for meals whenever possible and would attend our concer ts. Sometimes we would travel to churches around the area to give concerts. We were lucky enough to be offered a second year
at Dartington. By then there were twenty of us, including Edith O'Hanrahan and Heather Williams, who came up from Dartington Hall School, and we were able to extend our repertoire. On VE Day we celebrated by singing 'Alleluia' and other music from the top of the Tower. The rest of the day was taken up with folk dancing with Winsom Bartlett, who played the pipe and tabor wonderfully. Another time we gave a performance of Britten's 'A Ceremony of Carols' by candlelight accompanied by the celebrated harpist, Maria Korchinska. Imo arranged, and came with us, to see 'Peter Grimes' in London soon after it was composed. We had such a happy meeting last summer, all of us getting on for 80 now, but the memories remain. I will always be grateful for my Dartington.
We would all like to thank Margaret Eggleton and Graham Green for being with us and showing us around the days.new buildings, which helped to make the occasion such fun.
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cinders mcleod
Andrew and Sue Mock (nĂŠe Hanson)
Sandy Maberley & Chris Ferris
Dip Mus Ed / Cert Ed 69 - 72 at Dartington and Rolle
Dance & Drama 1974
Married July 72 - 33 years now!! Music teaching previously in Nottingham, Bath, Devon and even a year in New Zealand, but now in Warwickshire. Andrew is a Director at a private school in Leamington Spa, Sue is a Music Centre Director and string teacher for the Warwickshire County Music Service. We have kept in touch with Charles Slade, Chris & Marion Rowlatt, Maureen Ling & Nancy Litton but would especially like to hear from Helen Narracott, Anne Beynon or Arthur Vann, and from anyone who was on the B course at the same time as us, or even the A course 69/70. Any one who remembers us and would like to renew old friendships and exchange news can catch up with us on sue.mock@ntlworld.com or 01926 778158
Founders/Ar tistic Directors of 'Theatre MĂŠlange', the UK based international touring company that fuses text, live music and movement to create highly visual, intercultural work. At present working with the Romanian company 'Ariel Theatre' to create their new production Mona Lisas which will premiere at the Brewhouse, Taunton in September 2006 as par t of Somerset Arts Week. www.theatremelange.com
Konstantin Bikos (Gunsch) BA (Hons) Music 2003 I'm now working as a freelance percussionist and instrumental teacher here in the beautiful black forest town of Freiburg. Efforts to publish parts of my Dartington dissertation in the Canadian music magazine Musicworks are underway.
where are they now?
Rusdi Latif Dip HE Art & Design 1977 Now Senior Public Relations Officer at the Ministr y of Education in Brunei. Rusdi occasionally visits the UK and would love to make contact with any of his classmates from 1977. Email: rusdi_family@yahoo.com
Dusty Gedge Theatre 1987 Co -founder of Living Roofs www.livingroofs.org/ He recently received the Andrew Lees Memorial Award (one of the British Environment & Media Awards) for his success in persuading developers to install "green roofs" - many thousands of square metres of greenery - on rooftops hundreds of feet up in London's Canary Wharf, the City and other developments.
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If you have spotted a long-lost friend on this page and would like to get in touch please contact the editor.
news in brief understood that death was part of life … We may miss his physical presence but he will always inhabit the landscape of Dartington for me.’
the arts at dartington future dates for your diary
1940-1983
Devon Arts Conference 2006 Friday 17 February 2006 making space ::: taking space
is the title of a new book by Peter Cox, first Principal of Dartington College of Arts.
Taking place at Dartington College of Arts, this crossartform conference will explore the emerging issues and challenges surrounding ‘Space’ - artists’ spaces, working spaces, non-arts spaces and future spaces for the arts. contact: Sarah Benians on 01803 861650 or email: dac@dartington.ac.uk
Dartington Degree Show 2006 16-24 June (tbc) Check the Dartington website for updates or contact Tim Dollimore for more details www.dartington.ac.uk t.dollimore@dartington.ac.uk
April 4-11 2006 M&de @ Dartington(music and dance exchange)is a residential interdisciplinary performance laboratory for professional artists and researchers. The lab allows participants to explore collaborations between the disciplines of music, dance, theatre, visual and digital arts, to create starting points for new performance work. contact: e.claid@dartington.ac.uk
Thomas Bramwell Bartlett 1934 - 2005 Bram Bartlett died in Ashburton Hospital on 25 September 2005, aged 71, after two years of serious illness. However, he had remained as active as he could and had been seen around the Dartington Estate until the very last week of his life. Bram began working at Dartington in 1949, as an apprentice carpenter and joiner at the Staverton Joinery. In 1963 he joined the College of Arts, working as a carpenter. For nearly the next three decades Bram was a familiar figure around the College, with his workshop in the basement of Higher Close. In January 1993 he became Estate Warden for the Trust. Even after officially retiring in April 1999 Bram continued to work on a 3-day basis. His guided walks on the estate for local schools, natural history groups and anyone who cared to join in, were very much enjoyed. He continued to lead these walks until June 2005. From 1995 to 2003 he also shared his extensive knowledge of natural history, and of wildlife around the Estate in particular, through ‘Bram’s Patch’, his column for the Estate newsletter. Bram’s familiar figure, in plus fours, carrying his gun over his arm, has been an integral part of life at Dartington. All those who knew Bram will certainly agree with Charles Taylor, former Dartington Hall Trust Estate Steward, who wrote in the Estate newsletter ‘To say he will be missed is to miss the point, Bram
This book was reviewed by George Odam in the Times Higher Educational Supplement on 23 September 2005. This is an edited version of that review. ‘Anyone interested in the development of arts education in England from the Second World War onwards will find this a fascinating and absorbing account, written not only by a person who was there, but by the very man whose astounding vision, tenacity, guile and acumen made it all happen at an adventurous college in Devon. As far back as 1925, the stor y of Dartington had begun when Leonard and Dorothy Elmhirst married, and - thanks to inherited wealth - were able to set up ‘an experiment in rural reconstruction’ in South Devon. In 1941 Cox succeeded Christopher Martin as arts administrator of this new experiment in the troubled atmosphere of wartime England. Music was already well established through the arrival of Imogen Holst as the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts’ ‘music traveller’ for the South West. Martin had invited her to plan a special course for training music organisers and teachers for rural areas, and this had formed the bedrock of the arts department on which Cox was able to build. A chapter dedicated to ‘working with Imogen’ shows what a profound influence this was, the resonances of which are still apparent in our society… The account of the setting-up of artists in residence shows clearly the concern for and perceptive understanding of young people and their needs… Working with Jack Dobbs, Cox was able to bring musicians from India, Indonesia and Japan to work at Dartington. In so doing he profoundly influenced the direction of music and music education in this country in the closing decades of the 20th century.’ £9.95 + p&p from the Dartington Hall Trust Archive