What's a good software program for music orchestration with traditional orchestra instrumentation?

I've been using Cakewalk and it's great.

Music Orchestration Software

Sibelius and Finale are the two best products on the market for music notation. With an educational discount both are only about $250. There is also a free version of finale that is very limited.

I would caution you against using either program to "hear" your music. The standard software and music library for both programs results in many sounds that are not realistic such as low flutes cutting through an orchestra, or violin sounds that don't sound much like violins. The result is that you can hear a general sense of timing and harmony but NOT orchestration.

There are several programs out there that allow for computer generated realistic sounds, however these are primarily more complicated and tedious to use, and generally only used by TV and Film composers for shows that don't have a budget for real musicians.

Yes, Finale is a very good software for that. It's quite pricey though. They have a 30 day free trial though. Sibelius might, but I've never used it. It is just as expensive as Finale. I've heard good things about it though. I personally use finale though, because I was able to cheaply acquire it.

Sibelius and Finale. If you want something like rhythm loops, garageband is cheap and good for that. Audacity is free, but you have to record your own before you layer.

I like Sibelius...it's very easy to use

noteflight.com

its free (up to 10 scores)

i use it its great