There may be a few visitors to the forum who are considering Dorico to be their program of choice. If that’s the case then maybe this post will be of interest to you. A few years ago my business partner and I decided to start our own commercial arranging/publishing company; to produce pop/chart music and big band classics for schools and professional working bands. For many years we had been Sibelius users so it seemed logical that we should carry on using it for this venture as well. Around the same time we began to hear noises that there was going to be a new kid on the block and we read every scrap of information we could possibly get our hands on to see if it offered something new and fresh. Mark and I had already agreed that whatever software we were going to use, we would use that program exclusively to ensure uniformity throughout all our products. The choice was - stay with a mature program we knew inside out or go ‘all in’, with Dorico.
I believe we purchased our first copies just days after the launch. Even though initially it didn’t have all the features we needed, we could see its obvious potential – so we made our choice. Where are we going with this you may wonder?
There may be some reading this who are undecided on making a commitment. We, like you came here to the forum and were helped and encouraged by a group of people we referred to as ‘The magnificent seven’ (some of you probably have a good idea who they may be) and I’m delighted to see they’re all still very active on the forum helping users on a daily basis. Running a business is never easy but having the right tools at hand is a huge advantage and having a support network like the one here, is invaluable. Dorico fulfills all our requirements and it’s clear to us we made the right choice. We really don’t think we could have achieved what we have with any other software. Our house-style may not be for you but if you’re interested to see other people’s work then come along for a visit and see what we produce and hopefully it may encourage you to give it a go as well – the trial versions are free after all. Our website has recently launched and although quite modest, the catalogue is slowly growing.
For any musical directors/ educators out there we do have some free (and complete) arrangements for you to download and use. Although we are a commercial entity we have included a free resources section on our website. Starting with some well-known national anthems, the list will be added to and will grow in time to include other Public Domain works. With a bit of luck we’ll have some Christmas Carols later in the year.
Thank you all for your time.
Mark (Upton) and Dave (Clackett)
TopDots Orchestrations