Are you a composer, arranger, musician, educator, or student? Do you want to learn how to prepare professional quality sheet music and develop your engraving skills? Want to relive the whimsy of summer camp?

The Canadian Music Centre: Prairie Region is excited to announce our first ever Music Engraving Summer Camp, a two-day intensive designed to introduce you to the world of music typesetting and score preparation, led by industry professionals, from July 18-19, 2026.

With sessions led by our very own in-house engraver, Anton Lindenblatt, you’ll learn the basics of engraving, including notation conventions, score and part preparation, and the many options of music notation software available.

As a bonus, Michaela Kleer, head librarian of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, will also present a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most crucial roles in orchestral operations, and the work in preparing scores and parts for the musicians!

What You’ll Learn

Day 1:

You’ll start with all the basics: first with standard notation conventions (beaming, note spacing, text markings), followed by instrument specific guidelines (bowings, mutes, extended techniques, lyrics), in addition to non-traditional notation, including aleatoric/indeterminate music.

You’ll learn how to properly format scores and parts, delving into the art of stave layout, pagination, printing, and binding. This will be presented in conjunction with our guest speaker, Michaela Kleer, and her role as orchestral librarian!

Day 2:

Expanding on the previous day’s session, you’ll do a deep dive into the world of music notation technology, including Dorico, Sibelius, Finale, and MuseScore and picking the right software for your needs. You’ll also explore how templates, keyboard shortcuts, and external scripting integrations can be used to speed up your workflow.

An engraver needs a keen eye; Anton will walk you through the process of proofreading and error-spotting. Registrants for this session will have the opportunity to bring in personal projects for coaching and individual feedback.

Important Information

The full intensive will take place in-person at the University of Calgary in Craigie Hall F202, from 9:30am – 3:30pm, with an hour break for lunch.

For the one day/flex pass, participants will have the option to join virtually if they would like to attend the first session on July 18th, which includes access to the orchestral librarian seminar. The librarian seminar is also available as a standalone purchase.

We offer discounts to CMC Associate Composers as well as music educators for the one-day and two-day packages!

We are also offering a limited number of bursaries to those who may benefit; for further information, please contact CMC Prairie director Janna Sailor. (janna.sailor@cmccanada.org)