News Archives

Alfred Music and SmartMusic Join Forces on New Interactive PerformancePlus+ Series
SBO Staff | September 8, 2022Alfred Music and SmartMusic by MakeMusic have joined forces to bring directors the newest innovation in performance music—the PerformancePlus+ Series. These engaging selections for concert band, orchestra, and choir are presented with educational resources designed to enrich the rehearsal process and create outstanding performances. When PerformancePlus+ titles are accessed through SmartMusic, that’s when the full […] Read More...
Music & Computers For Musicians – a new online course from Alan Parsons’ ASSR to Help Music Teachers “get on top of technology.”
SBO Staff | September 2, 2022Musicians of every stripe and especially those who teach music— orchestra and choir directors and piano teachers along with worship leaders—are frequently too busy playing, teaching, writing, even recording, to find the time to become proficient at conducting a recording on a digital audio workstation themselves. “It’s too complicated.” “It’s too late.” “I don’t have […] Read More...
50 Directors Submissions Deadline Sept 30th!
SBO Staff | September 1, 2022After honoring over 1000 music directors since our founding, which we paused during the awful COVID years, the annual issue honoring “50 Directors Who Make A Difference” returns in December 2022! Please help us honor a friend, colleague, mentor, assistant director, or anyone else you know of who had been an outstanding director worthy of […] Read More...
Hal Leonard Offers World’s Largest Interactive Performance Assessment Library with SoundCheck™ Performance Assessment
SBO Staff | August 29, 2022Hal Leonard has released a massive expansion of their SoundCheck™ library, now offering over 82,000 interactive titles for performance assessment and composition. Powered by MatchMySound™, SoundCheck is a proven leader in assessment technology, providing ratings and feedback on pitch, rhythm, and intonation, while supporting both audio and video recording assessments. The newly-released interactive titles include […] Read More...
On the Passing of William (Bill) Clark
SBO Staff | August 5, 2022William (Bill) Clark passed away on July 31, 2022, in Las Cruces, New Mexico. He was 84. Bill graduated from Henderson State Teachers College and completed a Masters Degree from the University of Arkansas. He received a doctorate from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Upon completion of his degree, he became Director […] Read More...
Noteflight’s Community Serves Over 7 Million Members!
SBO Staff | August 3, 2022Noteflight, a Hal Leonard company and the world’s first and largest online music notation software community, now serves over 7 million users! This community consists of beginners and professionals, educators and their students, and composers and performers using Noteflight Basic, Noteflight Premium, or Noteflight Learn. With professional-level notation, performance assessment with SoundCheck™, a community for […] Read More...
Excelcia Music Publishing Announces Acquisition of Kendor Music
SBO Staff | July 28, 2022Excelcia Music Publishing announces its acquisition of prominent music publisher, Kendor Music. Kendor Music is a well-established leader in publishing educational editions for Jazz Ensemble, String Orchestra, instrumental solo & ensembles, and text/method books. Excelcia Music Publishing will maintain the brand and continue to robustly publish editions throughout all of Kendor Music’s core educational product […] Read More...
FarPlay Delivers Internet Promise of Live, Online Music Collaboration
SBO Staff | July 26, 2022Powerful new software transmits uncompressed audio and video with exceptionally low latency, empowering real-time interaction at a level of quality and convenience never before possible Jamming live with musicians in different locations has been a promise of the internet for almost 20 years, but one that has remained largely unfulfilled. Popular conferencing platforms such as […] Read More...
MBA in Music Industry degree launched at Troy University
SBO Staff | July 13, 2022Troy University’s Sorrell College of Business has teamed with the John M. Long School of Music in the College of Communication and Fine Arts to offer a groundbreaking program for students and working professionals in the music and entertainment industries. The Master of Business Administration in Music Industry is one of a select few AACSB […] Read More...
D’Addario Orchestral Expands Accessories Line
SBO Staff | June 28, 2022D’Addario Orchestral is excited to announce the expansion of their accessories line with three new offerings, the Bowmaster Bow Grip, Spector Violin Mute, Endpin Anchor for Cello and Double Bass, and Clarity Rosin, a hypoallergenic rosin (available July 1). Bowmaster Bow Grip The Bowmaster Bow Grip is an innovative teaching aid that helps beginners and […] Read More...
Hal Leonard’s ArrangeMe.com Reaches New Milestones Self-Publishing Platform Now Has Four Million Copyrighted Titles Available & Has Paid Out Over $5 Million in Commissions
SBO Staff | June 28, 2022ArrangeMe, Hal Leonard’s sheet music self-publishing platform, has experienced substantial growth in the past year, including increasing its library to over four million copyrighted songs available to arrangers and passing the $5 million mark in total user commissions. The ArrangeMe platform enables songwriters, composers, and arrangers to publish and sell their sheet music arrangements of […] Read More...
SoundCheck™ Performance Assessment Now Included with Essential Elements
SBO Staff | June 27, 2022Hal Leonard has announced that this fall, SoundCheck™ will be included in Essential Elements Interactive at no additional charge to students using Essential Elements method books. This makes Essential Elements the only band and string method with included performance assessment technology. Powered by MatchMySound™, a proven leader in assessment technology, SoundCheck provides ratings and feedback […] Read More...