ScoreLab by NFO
A real-world accelerator for composers and recording engineers.
Learn, collaborate, and record with a live professional orchestra.
What Is ScoreLab?
ScoreLab is an 9-week professional accelerator designed for composers and audio engineers taking their first steps into the world of orchestral recording.
Through guided teaching, mentorship, and hands-on work with a live orchestra, participants gain practical experience of how professional orchestral sessions actually operate, building the skills, confidence, and materials needed to progress into industry-level work.
8 Weeks | 2 Live Sessions | 20+ Pro Musicians | 12 Exclusive Places
The Talent:
A curated cohort of emerging composers and engineers.
The Force:
Northern Film Orchestra, 20+ world-class session players.
The Mentors:
Active industry practitioners delivering real-world expertise.
The Stage:
Professional orchestral recording facilities.
Two pathways, one shared experience.
ScoreLab runs as a single program, with two specialist pathways.
For Composers
ScoreLab is designed for composers who are ready to take their first serious step into working with live orchestra.
This pathway is ideal if you are building a professional portfolio, want to understand how sessions actually run, and need high-quality audio and video assets that reflect real-world standards.
For Recording Engineers
ScoreLab gives engineers rare, hands-on access to orchestral recording sessions — one of the most difficult areas of audio to break into.
Participants shadow and assist experienced professionals, learn real scoring stage workflows, and leave with portfolio-ready material and practical confidence.
What every ScoreLab participant experiences
Every ScoreLab cohort is built around two live orchestral recording sessions, typically a string ensemble and a full ensemble, recorded at the Stoller Hall in Manchester.
Participants engage in structured preparation, attend live sessions, and take part in post-session edits, discussion, and delivery. The experience is supported by weekly live teaching, mentoring, and guided reflection.
The focus is not just on recording music, but on understanding the professional context around it, communication, expectations, workflow, and decision-making.
Why ScoreLab Exists
Access to live orchestral recording is one of the biggest barriers facing emerging composers and engineers. The cost, logistics, and pressure of professional sessions mean most people encounter orchestral work too late, or not at all.
ScoreLab exists to bridge that gap.
By creating a structured, professionally run environment with real musicians and real outcomes, the programme offers access that is normally unavailable at this stage of a career.
“Designed around how sessions actually work.”
Learn from the team trusted by...
What Participants Leave With
ScoreLab is designed to produce tangible outcomes.
Composers
✔ Real orchestral recordings of your music
✔ Video content suitable for pitching & promotion
✔ A credible, industry-ready portfolio
✔ Experience working inside a professional session
✔ A Northern Film Orchestra credit
Recording engineers
✔ Hands-on scoring stage experience
✔ Portfolio mixes from real sessions
✔ BTS content & photography
✔ Industry-relevant credits
✔ Confidence operating orchestral workflows
Both pathways emphasise clarity, confidence, and credibility — not just knowledge.
Programme Structure
ScoreLab runs as a live, cohort-based programme across the summer. Teaching is delivered through weekly online sessions, combined with in-person orchestral recording dates.
Cohort sizes are deliberately limited to preserve quality, access, and support.
Exact curriculum, session breakdowns, and deliverables differ by pathway and are outlined in full on the Composer and Engineer pages.
ScoreLab is delivered by the team behind Northern Film Orchestra sessions, working regularly with composers, producers, and engineers across film, television, and media.
The programme reflects how sessions actually run, not how they are described in theory.
