Commissions

I do now and again take on Commissions to prepare and make available Rehearsal Midi Files.

Up to now I have - for the most part - only made Midi Files of Works which I myself have sung, or am going to sing, or which my friends and colleagues in local Choirs and Choral Societies have sung or are going to sing. However, on a small (so far) number of occasions I have been asked to provide Files for other Works, and on a couple of those - where I have been provided with copies of the relevant Scores - I have graciously acceded to the requests.

Since it is becoming clear that I am running out of Works of the sort that my small, local Groups are likely to perform, even though there are still many, many Works out there that are regularly essayed and with which the relevant Singers may well need the sort of help that Midi Files can supply, and since I will perhaps soon need something to work on so as to keep me from getting bored with retirement, I now offer my services to those who think that Files such as I make could be of assistance, and so might request me to prepare them.

There, however, are a few conditions to which the Requestor - who may be asking for help either as an individual or as a representative of his or her Singing Group - must agree!

• First, in general I only do Works I want to do. If I don't like it, or I decide it's too difficult, or I think I don't have enough time, then I won't do it
• Second, I won't do any Work without having a nice new proper printed version - a version as commercially published, not as produced by the office photocopier! - of the relevant Score in my hot sticky little hands. And I keep this Score copy whether I complete the job or not. If you have a CD that you'd like me to try to model the Midi Files on, as regards tempi and dynamics and instrumentation, then send me a copy, and I'll see what I can do. And I keep this CD copy whether I complete the job or not.
• Third, I cannot work miracles, so I'll need at least a month to prepare the Files. Accordingly, we need to agree that I'm going to take on the job, and I need to receive the Score, at least a month before the Files are required for use. And if, by sad chance, I run out of time, and am unable to produce the Files by the requested date, then that's just tough; though I will always try to meet the deadline, nevertheless if I don't ... the Requestor has no rights in this matter!
• Fourth, unless I choose otherwise, the Files for all the Works I do get uploaded to my Website, so as to be freely available to anyone (else) who wants to make use of them.
• Fifth, I may, at any time and for any reason, change my mind about any Work, or even about this whole idea of accepting Commissions, and decide I'm not going to do it after all. Again, the Requestor has no rights in this matter!
• Finally, there's the Fee. To start with I thought I'd do this "for free" (apart from the Score/CD copy, that is), but then, when a potential Commissioner asked me what I'd charge, I thought ... OK, why not? So, after some consideration, I propose a voluntary donation of 1 pound sterling (or the equivalent in local currency) per page of Score. Or thereabouts - a total amount that can easily be made from one or more banknotes and then posted to me in a plain envelope - with a minimum donation of 5 pounds sterling (or, if appropriate, 5 US dollars or 5 Euros). But the donation should be made after I've done the work (and the result is acceptable); that way I can more easily choose not to do it!

If you think I might be able to help you, contact me via the E-mail address on my Home Page.

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Last updated by John on 20/Jun/22