Will · Music Chef

The session that’s ready before you are

Most composers spend the first twenty minutes of every session rebuilding what was working last time. Tracks, routing, expression maps — set up again, from scratch, before a single note gets written. The Composer Toolkit fixes that. One download. Everything configured. Open it and write.

5 Files

What's Included

Cubase + Dorico project templates
Vienna Ensemble Pro server project
Bome Network config file
Expression maps library (Berlin, CSS, VSL)
Setup guide text files

Free. Then decide what it was worth.

The whole kit — Cubase template, Dorico template, VE Pro server project and the Bome routing file — in one download. Free means free — no card, no trial. Your email keeps it in your account.

It took years of sessions to arrive at this. If it saves you even one afternoon, $40 is a fair trade — and if it doesn’t, take it anyway.

A single .zip. Nothing is installed on your machine, and nothing phones home.

One idea, three rooms: you write it in Dorico, you hear it through VE Pro, you finish it in Cubase.

Write where writing feels natural

Notation first. Dorico is where the idea gets its shape, without a mouse-drag standing between you and the phrase.

Hear it as you write it

Expression maps and a preloaded VE Pro rig mean the orchestra answers back in real time — the notation plays the way you meant it.

Finish it without rebuilding it

The same session lands in Cubase already routed. Nothing to reconnect, nothing to reconfigure, nothing lost in the handover.

What I run it on

Dorico Pro Cubase Pro Bome Network Bome Unlimited Named Ports Vienna Ensemble Pro Orchestral Tools Berlin Series TXL Timecode Elgato Stream Deck (Mobile)

It installs nothing

The kit is templates and configuration files. It works with software you already own — it does not include or install any of it.

It is mine, not a product

This is how I actually work, shared as-is. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Steinberg, VSL, Bome, Orchestral Tools or anyone else.

Adapt it freely

Swap the libraries, drop VE Pro, rewire the routing. I am showing you what works for me, not prescribing what should work for you.

Who is this for?

Composers who want a notation-first workflow with real-time playback in Cubase, driven from Dorico.

What’s actually included?

A single .zip containing:

Cubase project template
Dorico project template
VE Pro server project
Bome Network configuration file

Does this install any software?

No. Nothing is installed. You need to already own and have installed the required software for the kit to do anything.

What software do I need?

At minimum: Dorico, Cubase, Bome Network (with Named Ports), VE Pro (recommended) and TXL Timecode.

The included VE Pro template uses Orchestral Tools Berlin Series in SINE Player. SINE is free; the Berlin libraries are not.

What if I don’t use the Berlin Series?

No problem — Berlin is just the preloaded example. You can load any libraries into the VE Pro template. The expression maps in the Dorico template are configured against Berlin, though, so those will need adapting.

What if I don’t use VE Pro?

That works too. Route MIDI straight to instruments inside Cubase using rack or instrument tracks.

How much does it cost?

Nothing. It is free, and it stays free. If it earns its keep you are welcome to support the work — the suggested amount is $40, and any amount, including none, is genuinely fine.

Why isn’t it working for me?

The kit depends on several pieces of software agreeing with each other. When something is off it is almost always one of:

Missing software or licences
Routing or configuration that differs from mine
A different library set behind the expression maps

Do you provide technical support?

Not for the free kit — it is shared as a real-world example, and I cannot troubleshoot individual rigs at that scale.

If you want hands-on help, a 1-on-1 Zoom session is exactly that: your rig, your problem, fixed together.