Welcome to the EAC website - its pages contain information and downloads on the organisation and the work of the individuals involved. Your feedback and suggestions are welcomed via an email link at the foot of each page.

The EAC is a fluid group of composers, writers and choreographers whose work is grounded in a love for their common cultural inheritance. The work outlined on the site seeks to articulate and amplify the case for authentic and meaningful indigenous forms of cultural expression. It also investigates the creative 'wet edge' between the traditional and the contemporary.

The people of England have been unravelling the universe through their songs, stories, poetry, jokes and dances for millennia and it is this vibrant body of work which becomes the freely given treasure trove for the next generation. The simple lesson we have learnt from our ancestors is to tell nothing more or less than our own story and that the gold we are all searching for is in our own backyard.
Chris Wood

New commission and performance - Royal Geographical Society / Exhibition Road Cultural Group Music Day The English Acoustic Collective will be performing in the Royal Geographical Society's Ondaatje Theatre on June 20th as part of Exhibition Road Cultural Group's Music Day 2010. EAC's two performances, at 13.00 and 15.20, will include the premier of Coffee and Tea, a new work commissioned by ERCG with support from the PRS for Music Foundation. The piece is a response to images from the RGS Archive, and a slideshow of these images will be part of the performance. More information from the RGS or ERCG. The event is free but entry will be on a first come, first served basis if demand is high. And to find out more about the new piece, read Rob's guest blog on BBC Radio 2's Folk and Acoustic pages.

Summer School 2010 The 12th annual Summer School will take place from July 26-30 2010 at Ruskin Mill in Gloucestershire, and will be led by Robert Harbron and Miranda Rutter with guest tutor Chris Wood. The course is open to all but is principally aimed at instrumentalists seeking to develop a personal and individual relationship with English traditional music. Further information is now available on the updated Summer School page, along with an application form and contact details if you have any queries.

Members of the English Acoustic Collective include Robert Harbron and John Dipper, who along with Chris Wood form the English Acoustic Collective trio. John is a member of Methera, who first met and played together on the EAC summer school. Rob works with Methera member Emma Reid, and also with Nancy Kerr and James Fagan in the trio Kerr Fagan Harbron.

One of Chris Wood's long term collaborations has been with storyteller Hugh Lupton. Their latest collaborative piece, The Homing Stone, tells the story of Hugh's great-uncle Arthur Ransome and his escape from Moscow.

Myth and Music 24-30 October with Hugh Lupton and Ross Daly A 7-day residential master workshop for experienced storytellers and/or musicians to explore how the disciplines of music and the spoken word can work together to heighten the listener's experience. Click for more information...

Email list To make sure you receive our mailings, you should add englishacousticcollective@gmail.com to your address book or spam filter. If you have joined the mailing list but haven't received the mailing, click here to read it.