Sibelius was a music notation – or score writing – package, allowing people to put music to paper (via the screen) in much the same way a writer might use a word processing package. Named for Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, the first version was released in April 1993 – thirty years ago this month. The software went on to become a killer application for RISC OS, putting the operating system on the map for musicians, with some even buying RiscPCs just to run Sibelius – including institutions such as the Royal Academy of Music.
Developed by twins Ben and Jonathan Finn, the software was ported in the very late 1990s to Windows and the Mac, and Sibelius Ltd, the company the brothers formed to market and sell the software, was acquired by Avid in the mid-2000s.
Ben Finn will be visiting the RISC OS User Group of London (ROUGOL) to talk about the history of the software and company at their next meeting, which will take place on Monday, 17th April – tomorrow – at:
The Duke of Sussex,
(upstairs, in the Chichester – or possibly Petworth – Room),
23 Baylis Road,
London,
SE1 7AY.
Please note: This is an in-person only meeting. There will not be a Zoom session.
The talk will begin at 7:45pm, though ROUGOL members will be around from 6:30pm for those who might make it there early.
The venue serves a range of food and drinks, and is easy to reach by public transport, being behind and therefore a very short walk from Waterloo Station, and there is car parking outside from 6:30pm (on Coral Street) – more detailed directions
can be found on the ROUGOL website.
There is no entry fee, and anyone able to make it is welcome!
