Guide · Concerts
How do you make a concert programme for the audience?
By NoteStand · updated
In short
List the pieces in the order played, each with its title, composer and a short introduction; add the ensemble, its guests and the interval. Choose the format: an A5 booklet (an A4 sheet folded), an A4 sheet, or an online page the audience opens with a QR code. Write each introduction once, in your repertoire: it will serve again at the next concert.
What goes in a programme?
- the concert’s title, the date, the venue;
- the pieces in the order played, with their composer (and arranger if any);
- a programme note per piece: a few lines to listen better;
- the interval, guest ensembles, soloists;
- an introduction to the ensemble, and a photo if there’s room.
Writing programme notes
Three to five sentences are enough: when and why the piece was written, what it tells or where the text comes from, and what to listen for (a theme, a dialogue between two voices, a change of colour). Write for an audience that doesn’t read music. A good note serves several seasons: keep it with the piece, not in the concert’s document.
Booklet, sheet or online page?
- The A5 booklet: an A4 sheet printed on both sides and folded. The cover takes the title and a photo, the back the ensemble’s introduction, the inside the pieces.
- The A4 sheet: one side, when the programme is short or the budget tight.
- The online page: the audience reads it on their phone by scanning a QR code printed on a poster or on the back of a ticket. Less paper, and a last-minute correction is still possible.
The two work together: a few booklets for those who prefer paper, the QR code for the others.
Printing a booklet without surprises
Print double-sided, flipping on the short edge, then fold. Make a proof on a single sheet before printing the whole run, and check that the pages follow in order once folded.
With NoteStand
- Each piece has its public title and programme note, written once in the repertoire: they serve every concert that programmes it.
- The programme downloads as a PDF, as an A5 booklet or an A4 sheet, with guest ensembles, the ensemble’s introduction and photo — from its public profile — included or not.
- The online page is published from the concert, with an A5 or A4 QR poster to print; it republishes after a change and shows the number of views.
- The same concert, once announced, can also appear in partner cultural listings of your region, with your agreement.