Recording session with Dorico

Hi all!

A few weeks ago I bought a copy of Dorico 2 (I’ve been a Sibelius user for more than 10 years now): I love its logic and amazing capabilities (not to mention the constant improvements and updates), and I’m getting quite used to it.
I was just wondering if any orchestrator here in the forum already used it for a recording session: has it been stable? Are there any pitfalls I should be aware of? I have a few sessions with mid and large orchestras coming up and I was wondering if taking the plunge and try to work on Dorico. Any direct experience would be much appreciated!

Thanks!


Lorenzo

Dear Lorenzo,
Welcome to the forum!
I’d say it works flawlessly — I think I had to force restart Dorico like twice or three times in more that two years of use…
You might be interested in the threads that deal with performance when many layouts have been opened if you’re working on a large file (many bars and many flows). Otherwise, go!

Welcome to the forum, Lorenzo. I know of quite a few projects that have been recorded from scores and parts produced in Dorico now, including some sessions in Hollywood for a major animated series scored by a prominent composer where many of the cues were orchestrated in Dorico and performed from parts produced in Dorico. I also heard recently of a whole film being recorded from parts and scores produced in Dorico, though not in Hollywood. I can’t give specifics because studios can get a bit funny about this kind of thing (they don’t want there to be any sense in which they are providing an official endorsement) but there are definitely people doing this kind of work these days.

Hi Marc and Daniel,

Thank you very much for the warm welcoming and reply! Thank you so much for your encouragement, your assurances are really what I hoped to hear! I’ll try and orchestrate next projects with Dorico, then!

Daniel, congratulations for a very fine piece of software and the constant follow-up updates, it’s amazing!

Regarding preparing parts for session players: the output is so beautiful. Sibelius’s output is more pleasing than Finale’s (IMO), but Dorico laps them both. My players appreciate the bold, strong look, which really aids legibility.

Hi Dan,

Thank you so much for sharing your positive experience! BTW, I downloaded your ‘Beginner’s Guide’, it’s so useful, thank you!