February Update: Sheet Music Import, Custom Fields and More Flexibility

February 2026 is all about sheet music management. With over 100 changes, we have fundamentally improved and made working with sheet music in Chorilo more flexible. Whether you have a large existing music library, want to capture special information about your pieces, or simply need more overview: The February update has something for everyone.

Sheet Music Import: Transfer Your Library in Minutes

Many choirs have maintained their music library in Excel spreadsheets for years. Switching to new software previously often meant tediously transferring each piece manually. That changes now fundamentally. With the new import function, you can transfer your entire music library to Chorilo in just a few minutes.

The import wizard guides you through the process step by step. First, upload your Excel or CSV file. In the second step, you map the columns of your spreadsheet to the corresponding fields in Chorilo. The wizard automatically recognizes commonly used column names like "Title", "Composer" or "Voices". In the preview, you can see exactly how your data will be imported before you start the process.

Particularly practical: You can also import sheet music for which you don't have PDF files yet. This way, you immediately have a complete overview of your repertoire and can add the PDFs later when you have digitized them.

Sheet Music Without PDF: More Flexibility in Recording

Not every piece in your library is already available as a PDF. Perhaps you have older sheet music that hasn't been scanned yet, or you just want to create an overview of your inventory first. Previously, it was required in Chorilo to upload a PDF file for every piece of sheet music. We have removed this restriction.

You can now create sheet music without a PDF file. Record all important information such as title, composer, arranger, lyricist, voices and duration. You can add the PDF at any time later when you have it available. In the sheet music overview, entries without PDF are clearly marked so you can see at a glance where files are still missing.

This flexibility is particularly valuable for choirs that want to digitize their music library step by step. You can start recording immediately and add the PDFs gradually without losing track.

Custom Fields for Sheet Music

Every choir has its own requirements for the information to be recorded for a piece of music. One needs information about performance duration, another wants to document the difficulty level, others need information about the license or purchase date. With the new custom fields, you can capture exactly the information that is relevant to your choir.

You define once in the ensemble settings which additional fields you need. These fields then appear for all sheet music and can be filled in when creating or editing. The fields support different types: simple text, numbers, date or selection fields with predefined options. For example, you can create a selection field for difficulty level with the options "Easy", "Medium" and "Hard".

The custom fields are also displayed in the sheet music overview and can be used for searching and filtering. This gives you maximum flexibility in organizing your music library.

Reference Number for Your Music Archive

Many choirs organize their physical sheet music inventory with a numbering system. Each folder or shelf has a unique number that makes finding easier. With the new reference field, you can now also store this archive number in Chorilo.

The reference field is a simple text field that you can use freely. Whether you use a sequential number, a combination of letters and numbers, or a more complex system: The field adapts to your needs. The reference number is displayed in the sheet music overview and is searchable, so you can quickly find the digital version of a physical sheet music copy.

Add Additional Files to Sheet Music

A piece of music often includes more than just the score. Perhaps you have separate voice parts, a piano accompaniment, practice recordings or background information about the piece. With the new additional files feature, you can store all these materials directly with the sheet music.

Upload any files and give them a meaningful name. The files are clearly displayed with the sheet music and can be downloaded by all members. This way, you have all materials for a piece in one place and no longer have to search in different folders.

Invite Guests to Group Chats

We have expanded the chat function introduced in January with an important capability: You can now invite guests to group chats. This is particularly practical for collaboration with external people such as guest conductors, accompanying musicians or event organizers.

Guests receive an invitation by email with a special access link. If they don't have a Chorilo account yet, one is automatically created for them. They receive a full account but initially only see the chat they were invited to and have no access to other areas of your ensemble. You can remove guests from the chat at any time when the collaboration is finished.

Duplicate Events

Recurring events like weekly rehearsals often have similar settings: same location, same time, same assigned sheet music. Instead of creating each event from scratch, you can now duplicate existing events. With one click, a copy of the event is created where you only need to adjust the date. All other settings are retained.

GEMA Setlist Export

For concerts, choirs in Germany must submit a setlist to GEMA. This reporting was previously often associated with manual effort. With the new GEMA export, you can export the setlist of a concert directly from Chorilo. The export is in the official GEMA format and contains all required information such as title, composer, lyricist and performance duration.

The prerequisite is that you have stored the corresponding information in your sheet music. The export automatically considers all sheet music assigned to the concert event. This saves you time and avoids errors in GEMA reporting.

Association Interfaces

Many choirs are members of a choir association and must regularly report data to them. With the new association interfaces, we significantly simplify this process. To start, we support the interface to IntelliVerband, which is used by several German choir associations.

If your association uses IntelliVerband, you can export your member data directly from Chorilo. The export is in the correct format and contains all information required by the association. You only need to upload the data instead of transferring it manually. More association interfaces will follow.

Does your association use a different system? Let us know! We appreciate any information about which association is relevant for you. As a young company, we are not yet known to all associations, so it helps us greatly if you can introduce us to your association or put in a good word for us there. Together, we can initiate cooperation between Chorilo and your association.

Extended SEPA Functions

We have extended the SEPA direct debit for membership fees with important functions. You can now store an individual SEPA mandate reference for each member. This reference is used in the direct debit collection and facilitates allocation in your accounting.

We have also introduced an expert mode for SEPA export. This gives you more control over the exported data and allows you to map more complex fee structures. The expert mode is aimed at associations with special requirements for direct debit collection.

Further Improvements

In addition to the major innovations, we have made numerous other improvements. You can now store a second email address for notifications if you want to receive them at a different address than your login email. For birthdays, you can set that only active members are displayed, so former members no longer appear in the list.

In permission management, there is a new right that allows members to edit their own data without having access to other members' data. This is practical if you want members to keep their contact information up to date themselves.

In the mobile app, we have improved landscape mode for sheet music display and introduced pinch-to-zoom for PDFs. The audio player now also supports playlists, so you can play multiple practice files in succession.

We are continuously working to make Chorilo better. If you have ideas for new features or encounter problems, we would love to hear from you. Use the AI chatbot, the feature request function, or send us an email.