Update: Finale 2014.5 has been released.

Lately we’ve been hearing lots of questions about the next version of Finale and I thought this might a great opportunity to answer those questions and talk a little about my new role at MakeMusic.

The project we’re currently working on is Finale 2014.5, which will be a free upgrade for all registered Finale 2014 owners. This release will feature performance enhancements, bug fixes, and will also add some new features based on your requests. Following the release of Finale 2014d we’ve been able (for the first time ever) to gather Finale usage data, and we’re very appreciative that so many of you have opted-in and allowed us to do this. This data plays a crucial role in the course of Finale development, including the creation of Finale 2014.5.

While we haven’t announced a time frame for the release, rest assured that Finale 2014 is the version for the 2015-2016 school year.

We’ve also been asked about our plans to support Standard Music Font Layout (SMuFL) fonts in Finale. We’re concurrently working on this support and updating our flagship Maestro music font to be SmuFL compliant. In the process we will add thousands of new glyphs to the font. The current plan is to not provide this with Finale 2014.5, but to make it part of the next version of Finale.

As of the first of the year my title changed from Senior Editor to Notation Product Manager/Senior Editor. Today I am responsible for all of our notation products; defining the product road map and feature sets, as well as prioritizing development. As a long-time Finale user (starting with version 3.0), a professional copyist/engraver, an active performer, and a private music educator, I believe my notational interests and goals align with those of many Finale users, yet I’m always interested in learning about workflows and usages that differ from my own. My goal is to do everything I can to help make Finale the very best it can be.

If you’re interested in looking at some of my engraving work, readily available examples include the worksheets and repertoire included in Finale as well as some of my whimsical work on the Finale blog.

On a personal note, my wife and I moved the final box into our new Colorado home last week, and we’ve already made our first trip to the Goodwill to share with others some of the stuff we shouldn’t have moved in the first place.

I’m excited about my new role, home, and Finale’s future. If you have any questions for me, please share them by clicking on “Comments” below.