Enrichment · Arts & Creativity

A concert program
ready for the copier.

Type the pieces, the performers and the thank-yous once. Get a folded bi-fold or a single sheet, with composers' dates filled in, the running time added up, and a warning before anything spills off the page.

Build the programWhat you get

The program builder

A made-up middle school winter concert is loaded. Edit any part on the left; the preview on the right is what prints.

Loading the program builder. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Enrichment · Arts & CreativityFree

What you finish with
A finished concert program to print and copy: cover, program with composers and dates, performers by ensemble and section, acknowledgments and an audience note, as a bi-fold or a single sheet, plus the concert's running time.
Who it is for
Music teachers and ensemble directors, student officers in band, choir and orchestra, booster volunteers, and homeschool and community groups putting on a recital.
Format
Browser tool. Prints on US Letter: the bi-fold on one sheet, both sides, folded to 5.5 by 8.5 inches; the single sheet front and back. Export a file to reuse the program next season.
Access
Free. No account and no sign-in. Student names stay in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Arts & Creativity space in Caveat Enrichment.
Support
Questions, a correction or a request: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. On Event, enter the school, the concert title, the date, time, place and directors.
  2. On Pieces, list the music in concert order. Start typing a composer and choose from the list to fill in their dates; add an intermission where it falls.
  3. On Performers, paste each roster as one line per section, such as "Flute: Ava, Mila, Zoe".
  4. Pick a layout and a style, and fix anything the preview marks as too full.
  5. Print one copy to check the fold, then print the rest. For the bi-fold, print both sides and flip on the short edge.

Build the program

Program conventions

What audiences expect to find, and how the builder handles it.

How each line is set

  • Title on the left, composer on the right, joined by dot leaders. A movement follows the work's title after a colon, as in "First Suite in E-flat: I. Chaconne".
  • Composer's dates in parentheses: birth and death years, "b. 1970" for a living composer, "c." when a birth year is uncertain. Traditional and folk tunes take no dates; credit the arranger with "arr.".
  • Pieces by the same ensemble sit under one heading, in the order they are played.
  • Performers are listed by ensemble, then section in score order as you type them. Check spellings with the students; it is the part families keep.

Printing a bi-fold

  • One US Letter sheet, landscape, both sides. Side 1 is the back page and the cover; side 2 is the inside spread.
  • Choose "flip on short edge" for two-sided printing, then fold in half with the cover outside.
  • Turn off "fit to page" or "scale" in the print dialog so the panels line up with the fold, and print a test copy first.
  • A large roster may not fit one panel. Compact text helps; the single-sheet layout gives performers a whole page.

The reference list holds 63 composers often played by school ensembles, from Purcell to Ola Gjeilo, with their dates. Any composer can be typed in; the list only fills in dates. The worked example's school, staff and students are made up.

Sources

  1. Grove Music Online (Oxford University Press): birth and death years for the composers in the reference list, cross-checked with the publishers' composer biographies for living composers.
  2. Gould, E. (2011). Behind Bars: The Definitive Guide to Music Notation. Faber Music. Conventions for titles, movements and credits ("arr.", "trad.").
  3. The Chicago Manual of Style (17th ed.), on writing titles of musical works: italic for long works, roman for movements and songs, and how to cite composers.

Check every name, title and date before printing; the builder fills in composers' dates only from its reference list and only when you choose a composer from it. The worked example's school, staff and students are made up. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.