A partnership has been successful in obtaining support to stage a brand new commission that combines ancient instruments with the latest audio technology. The commission, funded by the PRS for Music Foundation's Beyond Borders programme, will bring together harpists Gwenan Gibbard and Mary MacMaster, from Wales and Scotland, pipers Andy May and Tiarnan o Duinchann, from England and Northern Ireland, and sound artist Joe Acheson to make new music based on the sounds and timbres of the traditional instruments.

The commission is a partnership between Sidmouth FolkWeek, the Welsh folk development agency Trac, Edinburgh Harp Festival and the William Kennedy Piping Festival in Armagh.

The partnership has been brokered by Distil, a project which, for the past ten years, has been encouraging folk musicians to expand their creative horizons. Distil is a leader in developing innovative opportunities for artists and arts organisations to explore new creative ground together.

The new work will be performed in each of the home nations between spring and autumn 2012.