Orchestration Online

MORNING COFFEE: 6. THE STORY OF A FIRST PERFORMANCE My first official orchestral performance four decades ago: where I was as a young composer; how the idea for the piece took shape; how the opportunity for a premiere was offered and accepted... youtu.be/cWUPPV5oFOc

- perhaps an interesting reflection for more experienced composers; and some useful perspective for those who are getting ready for their own first performances. Thanks everyone so much your company along the 17+year journey that's been the Orchestration Online community.

MORNING COFFEE: 6. THE STORY OF A FIRST PERFORMANCE My first official orchestral performance four decades ago: where I was as a young composer; how the idea for the piece took shape; how the opportunity for a premiere was offered and accepted... youtu.be/cWUPPV5oFOc

2026 ORCHESTRATION CHALLENGE UPDATES! Just letting you know that we're a month from the 2026 Orchestration Challenge deadline, and I think I could handle another dozen scores or so in addition to the 62 who've signed on.

I still plan to release some new regular content by the end of the month, so stand by. Also, last call on that book sale. Thanks everyone, see you soon! Links: 2026 Orchestration Challenge post: www.patreon.com/orchestratio...

ORCHESTRATION CHALLENGE 2026 • RESPIGHI: NOTTURNO! FINALLY - a piece I've been wanting to platform in an orchestration challenge for several years! Check out the links in the video info for more details. youtu.be/pfbR3Kd8k6M

I've wanted to orchestrate the movement (from Respighi's "6 Pieces for Piano") since the moment I heard it. My version was completed two days ago but tbh it's based on my first imaginings from that moment long ago, now scored out in full. I recorded my lesson covering that score yesterday morning...

RESPIGHI REVEALED AS 2026 CHALLENGE COMPOSER! Hi everyone! As I'm organising the guidelines and putting the finishing touches on MY version of the 2026 Orchestration Challenge entry, I thought I'd tease the composer to whom we'll be paying homage: Ottorino Respighi!

I've been wanting to introduce him and his extraordinary legacy of work to the O/O stage for over a decade, but the circumstances never quite aligned along my projected activities on the channel and in the community. Now, hopefully, this represents the first step in making up for his absence.

2026 ORCHESTRATION CHALLENGE COMING SOON! Composer announced Thursday. Piece to orchestrate and guidelines released over the weekend. Deadline for completed entries: 15 November. You are going to love this exquisite score!

MORNING COFFEE: 5. PREPARING TO ORCHESTRATE (for the 1st time) A talk over a fat mug of hot chocolate that resonates perfectly with this month's Back-To-School theme. What are all the little bits and pieces of personal history, revelations, resources, and growth... youtu.be/OHULWdhdGCg

And how does all of this add up to a prepared orchestrator finally composing a worthwhile piece of music? Stay with me through to the coda, in which my impromptu talk summarises each thread into a useful, hopefully well-supported conclusion.

MORNING COFFEE: 5. PREPARING TO ORCHESTRATE (for the 1st time) A talk over a fat mug of hot chocolate that resonates perfectly with this month's Back-To-School theme. What are all the little bits and pieces of personal history, revelations, resources, and growth... youtu.be/OHULWdhdGCg

...that go into that moment in which a composer becomes an orchestrator, and scores something worth saving for the rest of their career? In this nice long chat, I talk about my own pathway; from the initial impetus of receiving my first orchestration manual for my 13th birthday...

ALAN BELKIN INTERVIEW Please join me for a conversation with a composer and educator whose potent resources have helped to shape the artistic outlook and training of hundreds - and now through YouTube and his connection to our community - many thousands of other composers. youtu.be/ylWNFnwMFKI

The fact that he does so with such beauty of language and logic of delivery is in itself a work of art; but how he manages to do so with a complete perception of the history of composition while taking no artistic sides represents a way forward for education that's both refreshing and revolutionary.

ALAN BELKIN INTERVIEW Please join me for a conversation with a composer and educator whose potent resources have helped to shape the artistic outlook and training of hundreds - and now through YouTube and his connection to our community - many thousands of other composers. youtu.be/ylWNFnwMFKI

BACK-TO-SCHOOL DAY 2: COMPLETE ORCHESTRATION SERIES STUDY GUIDE By popular request - here's a complete guide of my entire catalogue of orchestration lessons and score analyses series. What makes these works essential for your study? youtu.be/qdl-UwYpA5s

And just as important, in what order should you study them? With the complete public release of my Reading The Rite series earlier this month, and my Back-To-School week finally getting underway now, the timing is perfect to focus on listing and bookmarking resources that will improve...

BACK TO SCHOOL WEEK DAY 1: RELEASE OF COMPLETE RITE OF SPRING PLAYLIST! As promised yesterday, here's the full release of my very first orchestration analysis series breaking down Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Did you need to go to work today? Nah, forget it. Set up your smart TV for that beautiful big-screen clarity, stock up on the snacks, leave a Do Not Disturb note on the front door, turn off your phone...

BACK TO SCHOOL WEEK DAY 1: RELEASE OF COMPLETE RITE OF SPRING PLAYLIST! As promised yesterday, here's the full release of my very first orchestration analysis series breaking down Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

SIBELIUS' BIGGEST TRAP! Sibelius (the notation app!) automatically generates a bar rest in a pickup bar when you add an instrument! Of course this can be fixed - IF you catch it! youtube.com/shorts/8KxZq...

I appeal to anyone left at Sibelius who cares about engraving issues like this to rewrite the rules governing pickup bars to make this impossible in the future.

SIBELIUS' BIGGEST TRAP! Sibelius (the notation app!) automatically generates a bar rest in a pickup bar when you add an instrument! Of course this can be fixed - IF you catch it! youtube.com/shorts/8KxZq...

NO, DON'T MARK 2ND VIOLINS SOFTER THAN 1STS! Setting a recent Facebook group question straight in no uncertain terms. No, one should never generally mark 2nd violin parts down, nor assume that the players will actively drop their dynamic down a full degree... youtube.com/shorts/Zmckb...

...in order not to compete with the 1sts. The balance is already built into the structure of the orchestra and the way the music is almost always scored. Here's why...

BEHIND-THE-SCENES BRASS ORCHESTRATION/TRUMPET DEMOS, Pt. 1 It's been 8 years since the release of my last macProVideo Orchestration Courses. But today, I can fully reveal the plans I set in motion last year: to start recording demos by some of the finest brass players I know... youtu.be/OrmH7nvdDD8

I hope to continue to share excerpts as I record them over the coming months, and let you know how the new courses will be hosted.

BEHIND-THE-SCENES BRASS ORCHESTRATION/TRUMPET DEMOS, Pt. 1 It's been 8 years since the release of my last macProVideo Orchestration Courses. But today, I can fully reveal the plans I set in motion last year: to start recording demos by some of the finest brass players I know... youtu.be/OrmH7nvdDD8

MORNING COFFEE: 4. DEVELOPING YOUR OWN MUSICAL VOICE Some straight talk over a cuppa hot chocolate about key factors that either stimulate or slow down your progress as a developing composer - as well as help you to find your individual identity as an artist. youtu.be/Ka5q_CWvEzs

Huge thanks as always to my Patreon crew and my Buy Me A Coffee supporters. My head is a lot clearer today thanks to their help, patience, and kindness - and I feel like these Morning Coffee videos are starting to hit their stride.

MORNING COFFEE: 4. DEVELOPING YOUR OWN MUSICAL VOICE Some straight talk over a cuppa hot chocolate about key factors that either stimulate or slow down your progress as a developing composer - as well as help you to find your individual identity as an artist. youtu.be/Ka5q_CWvEzs

How can you be the most open to growth & change? Sometimes, it's to NOT think of everything you do as a masterpiece, or yourself as the greatest composer in the world. And sometimes, absorbing the works of a composer with a completely different voice can open new doors for you...

CARMINA BURANA POCKET GUIDE VIIb. CB GOES TO FRANCE Orff often leaves out big chunks of text from his Carmina Burana source poems. Dies, Nox et Omnia isn't just about a young man pining for his lover - it's a part of a greater story about a Goliard traveling to France... youtube.com/shorts/PcNnU...