An Artistic Score Engraving update from January 2026
Dear all,
Happy New Year, 2026!
I hope that, wherever you are, you have been enjoying some well-deserved rest over the holidays and that, if not, you spent this time in the way you wished to, surrounded by your loved ones. On my end, I am grateful to have been able to impose a period of rest over myself, as that is what I needed most. As soon as I closed the lid of my laptop, it was as if my whole being said, “Ah, yes, now it is my turn!” … and I fell asleep every time I stopped somewhere—except while driving!
I am now slowly getting back to the ordinary pace but, if I could wish myself a single thing for the new year, that would be to be able to organise my daily workflow so that a few of the following options happen more often:
- end the working day before midnight
- take a short nap in the middle of the day, just to recharge
- perform some physical workout (such as Tai Chi exercises)
2025 has been a very generous year to me, even if I had to struggle for every conquered inch, so I can only be grateful overall. Nothing is granted, though, especially when working as a freelance. I have several things in store for 2026 about which I will tell you shortly, and good organisation will be key.
Please tell me, how was your 2025? And what do you hope for 2026? Please tell me down in the comments or by replying to this email. I may not reply immediately, but I do read every line you write.
NEWS
Personal
Finally, after almost 6 months without a proper replacement, I got a new external display, a beautiful ASUS PA32QCV. It is a 32-inch, 6K resolution, Calman colour certified panel, with Thunderbolt 4 connectivity, which pairs perfectly with my 16-inch MacBook Pro.
My cello-teaching videos are still in their same limbo, perhaps mostly because of the realisation that none of my students will watch them. I will think more about this, but one must have healthy priorities. Music teaching overall has been very heavy these last three months. For the first time in fourteen years of teaching, I witnessed to my first Christmas exhibition when not even one piece was played without clumsy concentration mistakes. Not even a single piece was acceptably good, and this brought a shadow over me that didn’t abandon me for several weeks. I was so disappointed, emptied, as it seemed that everything done in class or at home preparing lessons was absolutely for nothing. I could blindly hope for a better year, but I will instead just keep doing my best, expecting nothing.
To reiterate how grateful I am for this past year, health has been strong. The only thing I should really improve is my neck and back conditions, as I feel like my motor system is at least 30 years older than what it should be at my age.
Engraving
Fall was quite intense on the engraving side. I had the honour of engraving the Cancionero de Juana la Loca for mezzosoprano and orchestra by José M. Sanchez-Verdu, which was premiered in Antwerp on November 15. I didn’t know that before but, in the same concert, cellist Asier Polo —one of my absolute favourite cellists and human beings, having known him personally in a masterclass in Spain over a decade ago— played Joaquin Rodrigo’s Concierto en modo galante for cello and orchestra. It must have been an absolutely stunning performance for all forces involved. This Cancionero was the piece which required ~450 unique vector drawings I was telling you about in the last episodes.
American composer Peter Lurye tasked me with two of his pieces, an Elegy for violin and piano and “Heckscher Park” in its version for wind quintet. It is nice how more and more composers and arrangers are understanding the quality I offer for what it is: a tool to make their pieces more appealing. Most of them now send me their pieces in already impressively good Dorico or Sibelius projects, and all I have to do is the best part: the beauty treatment. Perhaps I should open my beauty salon for scores! Among them, a Netherlands-based retired man who worked all his life in the economics sector has been tasking me with creating professional-looking scores of his compositions. This demonstrates that music can live anywhere and operates in mysterious ways. His pieces are truly delightful, expressive, each one with a story connected to them.
For Spanish composer Andrea Casarrubios, I had the privilege of setting yet another beautiful piece among her stunning production: Caminante for cello and choir. She is a truly rising star, and you should follow her on every media outlet.
Finally, the Aravir Music Company keeps expanding its solo piano music catalogue and while I worked only on one piece this last season, two more are in the works for release in the Spring.
Several commissions have been already secured for the first half of the year, and two more for the second half.
Publishing
With all these engraving tasks and the whirlwind that was setting up a reliable shipping-from-home system, time for new editions was minimal. While I have been working on various, none is yet at a level I am happy for their release. In truth, I am working on a secret project which I will be able to tell you more about in about 6 months, so that’s been absorbing most of my time.
Sales of physical editions have been slowly increasing, but since this is the first year I really see any meaningful sale, I cannot yet make a report of how it is going. I have been expanding my web of contacts to try to get more outlets around the globe, and I will hopefully have some positive news to share with you soon. The nice thing I can already say is that, for the first time, I have had to reprint titles because of them running out of stock—before you jump in amazement, remember that I start with a 10-15 printing run. It is impossible to know how much an edition will sell beforehand, unless you are one of the very big players, so caution is of the essence! Something I am a bit sad about is that performers and players no longer seem to be interested in printed music. At the same time, digital sales have been on a downward trend for three years now, and I do not expect them to get any better, honestly.
What’s next?
For once, I prefer to look at a bit shorter distance. Projects abound, both external (engraving) and internal (publishing), so I do not expect any boredom to catch on me anytime soon. As said above, I wish for a healthier life rhythm overall.
I wish you a great New Year 2026 to all and every one of you. May it be a year full of joy, success, and robust health! If I may express a political wish, then:
may they find some sanity in their daily endeavours;
may they stop censoring free speech;
may they sneeze every time they lie;
may they get some healthy inner cleaning urges every time they support or favour suffering around the world;
may they be healthy, happy, and satisfied without needing to syphon that from other human beings.
Bottom Line
Thank you for reading this up to the end. As always, I value your input, comments, and feedback. Reach out anytime, I will love reading you.
You can join my mailing list to get weekly gifts and promotions; browse my editions; for printed titles, please contact me directly for now. I hope to set up an online store for physical products sooner than later, but that’s yet another thing to learn from scratch and that is totally outside my comfort zone.
My YouTube channel, finally, contains video renditions of most editions.
See you… next time for the ASE update. I hope it will be soon. Please let me know what you are doing and where your musical adventures are bringing you.
Musically yours,
Michele
Music Preparation Services 