Commission Me!

*Ensembles and their Base Rates

• Chamber/Mixed Ensembles - $85.00

  • Solo Works

  • Duos

  • Trios

  • Quartets

  • Small Choir

  • Medium sized groups of up to 40 musicians

• Symphonic Orchestra Section Ensembles - $119.00

  • Brass Ensembles

  • Wind Ensembles

  • Concert Bands

  • Drum and Bugle Corps

  • String Orchestras

  • Large Choir

• Symphonic Orchestra w/o Choir - $153.00

• Symphonic Orchestra w/ Choir - $187.00

Theatrical/Film/Media Projects are not included here and can be found under “Other Projects/Services” where those services will be defined and their pricing will be explained.

Ask me about student/community ensemble rates!

You’re here because you have a question that wasn’t covered on my FAQ page and I created this so you don’t panic and have to contact me right away!

Below I will go more in depth about my commissioning process and the options for price negotiations.

First some housekeeping/standardized things:

My hourly composition rate is $17/hour and I only count the number of hours I spend on the first completed draft. I don’t factor in any edits made to the piece before the final draft is sent to you.

Why isn’t my hourly rate higher and why don’t I include any additional editing time? My hourly composition rate isn’t higher than $17/hour and I don’t include any time spent on edits to the piece before the final draft is sent to you, because I (like many others) have a day job outside of composing so I use commissions and any music sales as a way to supplement my usual bi-weekly income and I am quite alright with that!

However, I do charge $8.50 for any meetings with me/rehearsals/read-throughs where I am present, but fear not! They are not per hour, they are per session regardless of how long the individual sessions last. However, I will always charge for the first session (“session” is better defined and the “first session charge” explained in the next section).

Your options:

As alluded to in the “Housekeeping” section, I can price my commissions before I start composing the piece or I can price them after I send you the final draft. When pricing my commissions before I start composing, I will send you an estimate and once the piece is completed, I will send you a final bill/invoice breaking down the costs regardless of the option chosen. Important: Any meetings we have to negotiate the project itself before we start discussing the details of your commission do not count as the charged session.

The “session(s)” are defined as meetings with me or rehearsals/read-throughs where I am present and they are referred to as such in estimates and on the final bill/invoice. If I am not present for any rehearsals/read-throughs, or I am and you did not want to be charged for them, then the first meeting with me where we discuss the commissioned music is the “session” you will be charged for as it is the most important one!

Choose your *ensemble size before the composing starts (Menu):

If you have a set budget for a production/concert/performance/event and/or you have a definitive schedule where:

1. You need the first draft by a certain date

2. We schedule meetings to discuss any changes to piece before the date you want your final draft by; and

3. You know you’ll have scheduled rehearsals/read-throughs and you’d like me to be there for some or all of them, charged or not,

Then this option is best for you!

This way, you know what all I’m charging you for and you know how much you are estimated to owe for the project once completed. The estimate will state my hourly rate (but not the number of hours as those are to be determined by deadlines and other factors), the number of sessions we agree upon past the initial one that is always charged and the base rate for your ensemble size. Estimates will also come with a contract for you to sign that confirms our agreement for the project being priced in this fashion

I will always keep track of how many hours in total I work on the first draft of your piece, so the final bill/invoice you receive will include that number priced at my hourly rate.

If you have a schedule and you have rehearsals/read-throughs you’d like me to attend, the number of these I attend and the number of these you are billed for will be agreed upon during initial negotiations. Once we have completed the contract and the piece is finalized and in your hands, I will send you an invoice that officially breaks down the agreed upon costs listed in the contract/estimate for you to pay within a week or so of receiving.

*Ensembles sizes are as defined in the chart on the left side of this page.

You want me to send you my bill once you have the music (Final Bill):

This option is best for those who:

1. Don’t have a set budget or have a small budget and can’t afford my “Menu” option prices; or

2. Regardless of budget and if there is or is not a time crunch, you’d rather I just get to writing the music, and you’re willing foot the bill I send you for my time and labor…

Which works just as well, and I'm not going to tell you how to commission me! I am flexible and, as I stated earlier, composing isn’t my primary income, so even if you have a set schedule and you’d still prefer to ask me for the bill post-project, I’m all for whatever decision works best for you!!

However, if you choose this option, you will be billed for all meetings with me to discuss the piece until the final draft is given to you because instead of only factoring in the estimated temporal duration of the piece, I will be approaching the commission pricing as if it were a pre-existing piece I am adding to my catalog with the added cost of meetings to discuss changes and along with my hourly rate. You will not be charged for any rehearsal/read-through sessions I attend because, as far as this option is concerned, I held up my end of the bargain to compose your piece and it isn’t guaranteed that I will be able to attend any rehearsals/read-throughs as they were not a negotiated and agreed upon parameter prior to me writing your piece.

Instead of sending you an estimate accompanied by a contract after initial negotiations, I will only send you a contract so that you know you agreed to this option during our initial meeting.

Invoice breakdown:

The description of each item on the invoices will break down how I priced each of the three items on every invoice:

1. The number of hours I spent composing the first draft of your piece

2. The temporal duration of the piece or number instrument parts in the score (whichever is larger) multiplied by the total number of score pages

3. The number of sessions at $7.50/session; always charged for the first as it is the most important and, if using the Final Bill option, will be charged for all meetings with me until the piece is finalized but for composer attended rehearsals/read-throughs don’t count; and

4. ***ONLY APPLIES TO THE MENU OPTION*** The base charge for the ensemble size you are having me compose for (please refer to the chart on this page to see how I define ensemble size and their base rates)

How can you pay me?

My invoices will be sent to you via email, and using PayPal, so you can pay me using PayPal. If you’d prefer physical payments (cash or check) or paying via Venmo because you don’t have a PayPal, email me and let me know so we can set up how you can get a physical payment to me (I will soon be getting a PO Box) or exchange Venmo information.