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CSO Call for arrangements

Submission Guidelines

Cinematic Symphony Orchestra is a premier orchestra dedicated exclusively to the art of performing film music–what we fully consider to be “The Classical Music of the Future!”  And we are always on the hunt for the best music films have to offer.

Interested in having your work performed by us?  Keep reading below!

Any questions?  Send an email to Arrangement Coordinator Tamaira Gless and/or Music Director Andrew Keller. 

First steps
Required materials
  1. Concert pitch conductor’s score set to an 11×17 page size and vertically justified to fill the page, provided in PDF. Ensure parts are combined on score as appropriate for optimal visibility (i.e. flute 1/2). Include the name of the piece as a header or footer for each page. Make sure to include page numbers. Do not hide lines unless they are only in a small section of the piece (i.e. a choral opening where they do not sing for the rest of the track)
    1. A title page that lists the name of the track and the game it is from along with all appropriate credits including name(s) of piece(s), the source game(s), composer(s) and arranger(s). A complete list of instrumentation including noting any parts that may be optional. (i.e. Flute 1, Flute 2, Flute 3/Piccolo, etc.).
  2. PDFs for each part, set to 8.5 x 11 pages, with the following file naming format:
        Film – Title – Instrument.extension
        (e.g., “The Lord of the Rings – Concerning Hobbits – Violin 1.pdf”) 
  3. A combined percussion score
  4. A choir score and/or pronunciation guide, if applicable.  Pronunciation guides are requested for lyrics that are not in English or Latin. 
  5. At least one audio recording of your arrangement. MIDI recordings are acceptable. Multiple live recordings can be submitted.
  6. The notation file of your arrangement (to allow us to make adjustments quickly, as needed). We welcome scores made with a variety of notation software, including Finale, Sibelius, Dorico, and Musescore. Please also include an XML version as well. 
Once you're ready to submit...

Please be sure you have the following ready to submit:

  • The full score, engraved for 11x17 page size
  • A choir rehearsal score and/or pronunciation guide, if applicable
  • Notation Files - Include the original file and an XML file
  • Part Files - Individual parts in a Google Drive Folder
  • An audio recording of the piece (MIDI mockups are acceptable)
  • A link to the original track and/or the preexisting arrangement that your arrangement is based off of
What happens next?
  • Once your arrangement is received, it will be reviewed by the Arrangement Committee and then put into one of three categories: 
    1. Performance Ready (minor alterations may still be needed)
    2. Shows Potential But Needs Revision
    3. Not Performance Ready
  • While we will do our best to communicate issues to the arranger, due to the volume of submissions, we cannot guarantee a response.
  • If a work falls into the middle category, we may or may not reach out to have you collaborate on the rework. If there are only re-orchestrations needed, those will most likely be taken care of by the Arrangement Committee. 
  • If a work is Performance Ready, we will add it to our library for consideration for a future concert cycle. 
  • At the time that a work is programmed to be performed, the arranger will be notified at the email address provided. This communication will only happen for the inaugural performance of the work, although it may be played multiple times in the same or future concert cycles. 
  • Whenever possible, two complimentary tickets and/or livestream access will be provided to the arranger for the premiere of their arrangement.
REGARDING THE SUBMISSION OF MUSICAL ARRANGEMENTS

Submission of any musical arrangement (hereinafter, the “Arrangement”) to the Cinematic Symphony Orchestra (hereinafter, “CSO”) is subject to the following terms and conditions. The individual or CSO submitting the Arrangement (hereinafter, the “Arranger”) acknowledges and agrees to these terms upon submission.

  1. Grant of License. By submitting the Arrangement, the Arranger grants the CSO a non-exclusive, perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide license to perform, reproduce, distribute, and display the Arrangement in any and all media, now known or hereafter devised. This license includes, but is not limited to, public concerts, broadcasts, webcasts, and archival recordings. Furthermore, should an Arrangement be selected for performance, there is no limit to the number of times it may be performed by the CSO under the license granted herein.
  2. Right of Modification. The Arranger acknowledges that the practical requirements of performance may necessitate modifications to the Arrangement. The Arranger grants the CSO the right, at its sole discretion, to make any alterations, edits, re-orchestrations, transpositions, or other modifications to the Arrangement as deemed necessary by the CSO’s Music Director, conductors, musicians, or artistic staff to ensure a successful performance. The CSO is under no obligation to seek prior approval for such modifications.
  3. No Guarantee of Performance. The submission of an Arrangement does not constitute a promise or guarantee of public performance. The selection of works for performance is at the sole artistic and programmatic discretion of the CSO. 
  4. Waiver of Compensation. The Arranger understands and agrees that this submission is made on a voluntary basis. No fee, royalty, honorarium, or other form of financial compensation shall be due to the Arranger for the performance or use of the Arrangement by the Orchestra. The opportunity for a public performance is the sole and sufficient consideration for the rights granted herein.
  5. Arranger’s Warranties and Representations. The Arranger expressly warrants and represents that they possess the full legal right and authority to create and submit the Arrangement. This includes having secured all necessary permissions and licenses for the underlying musical composition (the “Work”) upon which the Arrangement is based, unless the Work is verifiably in the public domain. The Arranger agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the CSO, its officers, performers, and agents from any and all claims, liabilities, damages, and expenses (including reasonable attorney’s fees) arising from a breach of this warranty, including but not limited to claims of copyright infringement.
  6. Attribution. The CSO shall make a reasonable effort to provide appropriate credit to the Arranger in concert programs and other materials where composers and arrangers are customarily acknowledged. The exact form and placement of such credit shall be at the discretion of the CSO.
  7.  

If arrangers have special requests to make regarding the performance of their work, including but not limited to participating in the performance themselves, please Contact Us.  Requests will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

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Michael Carney, M.M.

Choral Director Michael Carney has been a passionate and dedicated performer, director, and music educator for more than 25 years. He has degrees in vocal music education from Baldwin Wallace University, where he studied with Stuart Raleigh and Charlie Smith among others, and in choral conducting from Kent State University, where he studied with C. M. Shearer. He spent the first part of his career developing award-winning high school choral programs, and now directs the student choral ensembles of Lorain County Community College. Since 2016, Michael has served as Music Director for Good Company, A Vocal Ensemble – a select community chorus based on Cleveland’s west side – and founded that group’s Contemporary Composers Series, bringing prominent choral composers to Cleveland for mini-residencies with Good Company and providing meaningful outreach for local music students. Michael is also the Director of Music for the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Cleveland, where he directs four ensembles and performs regularly as a vocalist and pianist/organist for services and other special events. Michael lives in Lakewood with his wife Lucy, and they enjoy traveling, making music together, and spending time with their two adult children.  

Sam Rotberg, D.M.A.
Dr. Barton Samuel Rotberg enjoys a fulfilling career as a performer and instructor of violin, string pedagogy and chamber music. ClevelandClassical.com described his performance as, “The violinist’s timbre in the first movement was simply stunning,” and “Rotberg’s full violin sound lent charm and beauty.”

Rotberg has been a featured soloist with numerous orchestras including the Erie Chamber Orchestra, Pittsburgh Philharmonic, Amherst Chamber Orchestra and Warren Philharmonic in concerti of Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn and other repertoire staples. He has been a member of the Illinois Philharmonic, Ann Arbor Symphony and Flint Symphony orchestras and has served for three seasons as concertmaster of the Southwest Symphony Orchestra in Illinois. He currently serves as concertmaster for the Ashland Symphony Orchestra. As violinist of the Davanti Trio, an endowed ensemble under the auspices of the Flint Symphony Orchestra, Rotberg became a prizewinner in the Chamber Music Foundation of New England Ensembles Competition. The trio gave performances in the U.S., Canada and France. Rotberg’s chamber music performances have been heard on WQLN FM Erie radio and WCLV FM Cleveland.

In addition to teaching at the BW Conservatory of Performing Arts, Rotberg is a faculty member at the BW Community Arts School, Conservatory Summer Institute and Oberlin College’s Community Music School. He has given guest masterclasses and performances at venues such as Interlochen Arts Academy, Longy School of Music and University of Windsor.
Andrew Perkins, M.S.A.
Andrew began studying piano at the age of 6 and clarinet at age 8. As a clarinetist and bass clarinetist, he has performed with numerous classical groups across Northeast Ohio, including the Medina Symphony, Cuyahoga Falls Community Band, Parma Symphony, Symphony West, the Video Game Symphony, and the Cinematic Symphony Orchestra. Andrew founded the Serenity Chamber Players in 2017 to provide free classical and sacred music performances of rare and reimagined repertoire. The ensemble has had the opportunity to perform concerts across Ohio and in other states, including Maryland, West Virginia, and Michigan. Andrew also serves as the music and choir director for his church in Broadview Heights, Ohio.

Andrew received his B.S. in Accounting from the University of Akron, and holds a Masters Degree in Accounting from the University of Connecticut. He is an active Certified Public Accountant in the state of Ohio, and currently serves as the treasurer for his church. Andrew lives in Parma with his wife Hannah, and his three boys. In addition to his passion for music, Andrew is an avid fan of professional darts and rugby, as well as all Cleveland sports.
Kristopher Morron, M.F.A.
Kristopher Morron brings much to the table at the CSO, including deep roots in Northeast Ohio and 15 years of teaching and conducting.

A trombonist, he has been a member of an eclectic range of Cleveland-based groups and involved in numerous national tours and recordings. He began teaching band and orchestra in 2004 and in 2015 served as graduate conductor of the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony. He holds degrees from Bowling Green State University and Case Western Reserve University.

Morron also has been active as a composer and arranger, often writing for the very groups of which he has been a member. He also contributed original music to the web series “Ringer$” and the animated short, “Astral Shift,” and created arrangements for a concert marking the 20th anniversary of the film “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”
Andrew Keller, PH.D.

Andrew started the Cinematic Symphony orchestra with in December 2023, and has since served as the founding Music Director, as well as the CEO of the organization.

A lifelong musician, Andrew owes his entire professional career to film and video game music, as it was the iconic soundtrack to Titanic and other great soundtracks that inspired him to start learning piano, which eventually led to dreams of becoming a film composer. Before long, Andrew was writing deeply dramatic compositions that were clearly influenced by the memorable melodies, lush orchestration, and intense emotional imagery of film music and video game music.

Since then, Andrew has been privileged to serve as a Professor of Music at Kent State University, where he received his Doctor of Philosophy in Music Theory and Composition in 2019.

Andrew is now beyond thrilled to be bringing his passion and expertise to the Cinematic Symphony Orchestra, in turn fulfilling a longtime childhood dream to help celebrate and advance this incredibly underappreciated artform.

As the CSO Music Director, Andrew has created a host of exclusive arrangements for the Cinematic Symphony Orchestra, including the “Avengers, Assemble!”  suite from Avengers: Endgame and the 20-minute Catch You On the Flip Side suite from Apollo 13.