Music Orchestration & Arranging
Sketches, songs, and MIDI into full scores, written for live performance.
every decision serves the music
- Released on BMG, Universal, Polydor
- Performed by Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
- Created for Grammy-winning artists
An orchestra plays what is on the page.
Your sketch, lead sheet, piano part, or MIDI file already contains the music. What it does not yet contain is the hundred decisions that stand between an inspiring idea and a room or stage full of performers: which instruments carry each line, how the doublings build weight and character, where the register sits so a phrase speaks instead of strains, how a page turn falls on a rest rather than a downbeat.
Those decisions are the work, and we have been making them since 1998. Releases on BMG, Universal, and Polydor were orchestrated and arranged here. Scores prepared here have been performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the City of London Choir, the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, and ensembles at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. Every arrangement is written or supervised by a credentialed composer and orchestrator, for the exact instrumentation you have, from string quartet or small band to full symphony orchestra.
You receive a conductor’s score and parts prepared to publication standard, with articulations, dynamics, cues, and page turns already resolved, and an audio mockup so you hear the orchestration or arrangement before the first rehearsal. If your source is a recording rather than a written part, Music Transcription captures it first. If it is a DAW project, MIDI to Score handles the conversion. If it began as an AI-generated track, AI Music to Score turns it into a readable score first, and the arranging follows from there. If you already have an arrangement that needs typesetting rather than writing, that is Music Engraving & Score Preparation. Whichever door you come through, the score that reaches the stand is held to the same standard.
Hear the arrangements, see the scores.
Orchestration
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Concertino, Op. 94 by Dmitri Shostakovich, orchestrated for piano and orchestra (2 Fl., 2 Ob., 1 Cl., 2 Hn., Timp., 1 Perc., and Strings).
Audio Mockup
Click to enlarge
Send in the Clowns, from A Little Night Music, orchestrated for orchestra, piano, and voice.
Audio Mockup
Click to enlarge
Main theme from Zero Visibility (Ορατότης Μηδέν) by Mimis Plessas, orchestrated for standard orchestra, performed by the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra.
Live Recording
Click to enlarge
Unexpected Encounter (Απρόσμενη Συνάντηση), from the suite In the Street (Εν τη οδώ) by Michael Karras, orchestrated for chamber orchestra and piano.
Audio Mockup
Click to enlarge
Arranging
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
A medley arrangement of West Side Story, spanning "Maria," "America," "I Feel Pretty," "Tonight," and "Somewhere," with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Scored for orchestra, piano, SATB chorus, soprano, and tenor soloists.
Audio Mockup
Click to enlarge
A medley arrangement of ABBA songs, spanning "Mamma Mia," "Super Trouper," "Chiquitita," "Dancing Queen," and "Waterloo," with music and lyrics by Benny Andersson, Stig Anderson, and Björn Ulvaeus. Scored for orchestra, piano, drum set, SATB chorus, soprano, and tenor soloists.
Audio Mockup
Click to enlarge
Long Time by Leslie Evans, arranged for small orchestra and piano with solo violin and cello.
Studio Demo
Click to enlarge
Smile by Charlie Chaplin, arranged for orchestra and voice. Colin Schachat, vocals, with the Ra’anana Symphonette Orchestra, conducted by David Sebba.
Studio Recording
Click to enlarge
Every project is different.
Every score is written to the brief you set.
Film, TV & Game Composers
Your mockup sold the cue. We turn the DAW template into a session-ready orchestral score and parts, with the doublings, register choices, and idiomatic writing a live orchestra needs to reach the fullness your sample libraries gave you.
Music Publishers & Rights-Holders
Arrangements and reorchestrations that give a catalog title more than one edition. Concert band, string orchestra, SATB, piano reduction, and graded versions for the school market, each written to the instrumentation and difficulty that market will buy.
Musical Theater, Songwriters, Artists & Producers
Shows, records, and live sets, taken from a demo or a sketch to the pit, the stage, or the session. Full orchestrations, arrangements, vocal scores in the singer’s key, and parts for every type of project.
Classical & Concert Composers
Busy composers delegate the orchestration and arranging. Sketches and piano scores developed into full orchestral works, existing material rescored for new forces, and parts an orchestra can rehearse from.
Ensembles, Choirs & Orchestras
An arrangement written for the group you actually have, not a generic chart reworked to fit. Concert medleys, songs adapted to your instrumentation, features for a guest soloist, scored in the keys and ranges your performers need.
Educators & Institutions
Graded arrangements matched to a student’s technical level, from beginner charts to advanced ensemble pieces, written by a conservatory instructor who knows what each level can carry.
Sacred Music
Liturgical orchestrations and choral arrangements prepared with fidelity to the tradition they come from, regardless of faith or denomination. We also support the publishing work of religious institutions.
Four Steps: The ScoreMasters® Brief System
Send Your Files
Share your material in any format (audio, MIDI, PDF, or handwritten sketches) and tell us about your project. Our form walks you through everything we need.
Get Your Quote
Within 12 hours, Samy personally reviews your material and replies with a transparent quote: scope, deliverables, format, timeline, revision policy, and final price (in USD, EUR, or GBP).
Approve, Then We Craft
Once you approve and place your order, work begins. On larger projects, you'll see a draft at the midpoint, with the chance to course-correct before final delivery. Two rounds of revisions are always included.
Receive Final Files
Your completed score arrives with a free audio mockup and in every format you requested: PDF, MIDI, MusicXML, and editable Dorico, Sibelius, or Finale files. Ready to rehearse, record, publish, or perform.
What it costs, and what you receive.
Orchestration & Arranging
since 1998More on fees, rush delivery, revisions, copyright, discounts, and payments is on the Pricing page.
From $179€155£134 per min · 2–4 business days
- Strings$179€155£134 per min · 2–4 business days
- Strings & horns$199€175£151 per min · 2–5 business days
- Chamber orchestra$219€193£166 per min · 2–5 business days
- Full orchestra$239€210£182 per min · 2–6 business days
- Large orchestra$259€228£197 per min · 2–6 business days

What’s included
- Print-ready PDF score and parts
- A standard audio mockup
- A professional orchestration or arrangement, created to your specification
- Detailed articulation, dynamics and expression, with comprehensive tempo and metronome marks
- Film-scoring elements where needed (timecode, hit points, large time signatures)
- The editable project files (MIDI, MusicXML, notation) if you hold the copyright
What affects the fee
- The size of the orchestra or ensemble
- The duration of the piece
- How developed the source material is (a lead sheet versus a detailed piano score)
- The orchestration complexity (multiple divisi, unconventional writing)
- The requested deadline
What clients ask before commissioning a score.
What is the difference between music orchestration and arranging?
Arranging is the broader act: taking an existing piece and reshaping it for a specific group of performers, which can mean changing the harmony, the structure, the style, or the form. Orchestration is the specialist craft within it: assigning music that is already written to the instruments of an ensemble, balancing timbre, texture, and dynamics so the whole sounds the way it should. Often both are needed in a project, and if that is the case for yours, we will tell you before we send the quote.
What source material do you need to orchestrate or arrange a piece?
We work from any starting point: an audio recording, a piano score, a lead sheet, a MIDI mockup, or a handwritten sketch. If you have more than one, send them all. A recording alongside a sketch usually answers questions a sketch alone leaves open. If you are sending a MIDI mockup, our guide From Mockup to Manuscript explains how to prepare it.
Do you provide open files along with the orchestration or arrangement?
You receive print-ready scores and parts and a complimentary audio mockup. Editable project files (MIDI, MusicXML, and the native notation file) are included when you hold the copyright to the source material.
What affects the price of a music orchestration or arrangement?
The size of the ensemble or orchestra, the length of the piece, how developed your source material is, the complexity of the writing, and the deadline. A lead sheet takes more work than a detailed piano score, and a full orchestra takes more than a string quartet.
Will I receive an audio mockup of the orchestration or arrangement?
Yes. An audio mockup is included with every orchestration and arrangement at no extra cost, so you hear the score before the first rehearsal.
For what music genres do you orchestrate or arrange?
Film and television, musical theater, commercial pop, jazz, classical crossover, popera, and contemporary orchestral music. If your project sits between categories, describe it and we will tell you plainly whether it is a good fit.
Can you rework or rearrange music that has already been arranged?
Yes. We adapt an existing arrangement to a different ensemble, transpose it for a specific vocalist's range, or rewrite the orchestration entirely while keeping what works.
Can you match a reference recording or a particular style?
Yes. Send the reference and we will tell you what is achievable with your ensemble and your budget. Matching an existing orchestration is common work, and it is usually faster than starting from a description.
Can you write to film timecode and hit points?
Yes. Where a cue has to land against picture, we work to timecode, with hit points, large time signatures, and click markings written into the score and parts.
Who owns the copyright to the orchestration or arrangement I ordered?
If you hold the copyright to the source material, you own the rights to the orchestration or arrangement we create. Where you do not own the underlying work, the orchestration or arrangement is for your personal use. We can separately agree, for an additional fee, to sell you the rights in the work we produce. Any such buyout covers only our own work product and gives you no rights in the underlying composition, for which you remain responsible for obtaining clearances. We are not lawyers, and we recommend consulting a music attorney.
When will I receive the orchestration or arrangement?
The usual turnaround is 2–4 business days. Length, ensemble size, the condition of the source material, and current availability all affect it, and we confirm a date before the work starts.
Does the music orchestration service include revisions?
Yes. Every orchestration and arranging project includes two rounds of revisions at no extra cost, covering normal adjustments of interpretation and taste.
How do I start?
Send us what you have, whether that is a sketch, a lead sheet, a piano part, a MIDI file, or a recording. Tell us the ensemble you are writing for, including the section sizes you have actually booked, and where the music will be performed or recorded. A reference track or two helps us hear the sound you are after. We will come back with a fixed quote, a delivery date, and any questions worth settling before the writing starts.
Services that pair with orchestration.
-
Music Engraving & Score Preparation
Rough notation, handwritten manuscripts, or music notation files into clean, publication-quality scores and parts.
-
Music Transcription
Audio, MIDI, video, or live performance converted into accurate sheet music, every note by ear.
-
MIDI to Score
Your DAW production into a session-ready score, with the articulations, voicing, and page turns notation exports miss.
-
AI Music to Score
AI-generated music turned into performance-ready scores and parts, with orchestration or arranging where needed.