Allsen Program Notes - Terms and Pricing

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Program Notes by Michael Allsen
Terms and Pricing
Contact me at mike@allsenmusic.com

Dr. J. Michael Allsen has been writing program notes for orchestral, choral, chamber and festival programs for over 35 years—as of January 2020, he has written notes on over 2100 individual pieces by over 600 composers. Allsen is an Emeritus Professor of Music at the University of Wisconsin—Whitewater, where he taught courses in Music History, World Music, and Interdisciplinary Arts prior to is retirement in 2018. He holds a Ph.D in Musicology (1992) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Allsen’s scholarly writing has been published in Plainsong and Medieval Music, the Journal of the American Musicological Society, the Journal of Musicology, and elsewhere, and he has contributed to reference works that include The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, and others. A professional trombonist, Allsen has been associated with the Madison Symphony Orchestra—one of America's leading regional orchestras—since 1983, and was the orchestra's bass trombonist from 1990-2018. He has been the Madison Symphony’s program annotator since 1984, and over the last 25 years he has been commissioned to write concert program notes and liner notes for many other orchestras, festivals, ensembles and artists around the United States. References are available on request. You can view samples of his program notes here.

Pricing and Terms of use for commissioned program notes (2022):

Pricing: My standard charge is $200 per full concert program/liner note, payable by check on delivery. The cost for providing notes for individual works within a larger concert program is negotiable. I will typically discount notes substantially if I do an entire season’s worth of notes for an ensemble or festival.
Delivery: I typically deliver program notes as a Microsoft Word (.docx) file, in an email attachment.
Program Pages: I will also include separate “program page” information at the end of a set of program notes, listing titles and movements, with composer names and work/movement titles regularized with the usage in the program notes.
Texts and Translations: Where appropriate, I will generally include non-English texts and side-by-side idiomatic English translations for choral and vocal works at no additional charge. Programs that involve a great deal of translation may incur an additional charge, to be negotiated, but this is seldom an issue with standard choral, operatic, and sacred repertoire.
Presentation: Program notes published in program booklets, liner notes or online must appear with “J. Michael Allsen” credited as author (at least in the copyright statement). Program notes should appear as delivered, without excessive editing. A copyright statement must appear at the end “program notes ©[year] by J. Michael Allsen.”
Usage: The commissioning ensemble or individual may use the notes as they see fit during the season of the program: in press releases, on websites, etc. Notes that appear online must appear with the statement “NOTE: These program notes are published here for [name of ensemble], its patrons, and other interested readers. Any other use is forbidden without specific permission from the author (mike@allsenmusic.com).” Notes must be removed from the organization’s website following the season for which they were written. I reserve all other rights, including reprinting in subsequent seasons.

Other issues:

Length: My notes for a typical orchestra concert (e.g., an overture, a concerto, and a symphony) or choral program will usually run 1800-2500 words (not including texts and translations), but I will edit notes to fit the commissioning ensemble's needs. The client's expectations regarding length and other formatting issues should be clear at the outset.
Format: I have developed a a few standard formats for notes over the years:

In the past few years, I have used a fairly "busy" format, including a brief introductory section and bullet points, for the Madison Symphony Orchestra and a few other clients. Feedback from patrons has been very positive, though I'll note that this takes up a lot of space in the printed program books, and is not really practical for programs with more than four-five pieces. Sample

A brief “vital statistics” paragraph listing details of composition and premiere for each work, followed by a more substantial note on the work's history and music. Sample

For concerts with more than four-five pieces, or where space is an issue, I usually adopt a more concentrated format. Sample or Sample

If you have a particular "house style" that you would like me to follow, please send a sample program.

Customization: Whenever possible, I see a set of notes as a single essay, rather than a set of distinct parts, drawing comparisons between the works included, and if appropriate, discussing the works' coherence to a single theme or concept. The commissioning ensemble or individual should feel free to suggest concepts or connections as well.
Turnaround Time: If I am not engaged with other commitments I can usually produce a set of notes on relatively standard repertoire within a week or so.

I look forward to hearing from you, and, I hope, working with you.

J. Michael Allsen

4209 Hegg Avenue

Madison, WI 53716

(608) 221-8827

mike@allsenmusic.com

last update: 3/5/22