Tessitura (software)

This article is about the software. For the musical term of the same name, see Tessitura.

Tessitura

Developer(s)	The Metropolitan Opera / Tessitura Network
Initial release	2000
Stable release	10.1.0.0
Development status	Active
Written in	Powerbuilder 10.5 ; T-SQL; asp.net
Operating system	Windows
Available in	English
Type	arts enterprise software
License	Proprietary; site-based
Website	http://www.tessituranetwork.com

Tessitura is an enterprise application used by performing arts and cultural organisations to manage their activities in ticketing, fundraising, customer relationship management, and marketing. It refers to itself as "arts enterprise software".

History and Business model

Tessitura was originally developed by and for the The Metropolitan Opera.

One of the most interesting aspects of the Tessitura system, which distinguishes it from most other commercial software, is the business model chosen by the Metropolitan Opera in order to commercialise what was originally bespoke software. The Metropolitan Opera maintains ownership of the intellectual property in the original software, but established a separate organization called Tessitura Network (as a not-for-profit corporation with 501(c)3 status under United States tax law) to manage the ongoing development and support of the system. The Tessitura Network now licenses users, handles management, maintenance and development of the system, and fosters an active exchange of best practices and knowledge sharing within the nonprofit arts and cultural sector. The Tessitura Network is effectively a cooperative enterprise, governed via a Board elected by and from, and representative of, the licensees of the system.

This business model has an obvious resonance with the not-for-profit and self-governing ethos of the arts community, and is one reason why Tessitura has rapidly come to dominate the (deliberately restricted) market in which it operates - English-speaking, not-for-profit, arts organisations with a need for ticketing and fundraising systems.

This model has resulted in a number of interesting characteristics for Tessitura Network as a software company.

• There is a very high degree of user commitment and involvement in the community of users - so much so that one commentator has likened implementing Tessitura to a religious conversion, and the annual conference is frequently compared by attendees to a revival meeting.^{[citation needed]}
• There is a strong emphasis within the company on direct business involvement - most of the company staff are ex-employees of licencees, and almost all come from an arts management background, rather than a IT background^{[citation needed]}
• Enhancement requests are subject to a voting process.^{[citation needed]}
• The strong involvement of users in the company, and the direct linking of maintenance fees to expenditures under licencee control, has enabled the company to run a very lean operation. For example, including a contractual commitment to taking each upgrade within a 90-day window puts a substantial limit on the costs of supporting old versions, but would be difficult to sustain in a more usual business model.^{[citation needed]}

System Functionality

The Tessitura system is designed to be flexible, customisable, and open, and therefore has a good capacity to be tailored for each organisation. Functional areas include:

• Ticketing
• Fundraising
• Constituent (ie customer, donor, or sponsor) relationship management
• Web API
• Marketing tools

Some users of the system

In the USA

5th Avenue Theatre (Seattle) Academy of Vocal Arts (Philadelphia) ACT Theatre (Seattle) Arena Stage (Washington, DC) Atlanta Opera Atlanta Symphony Orchestra AT&T Performing Arts Center (Dallas, TX) Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Berkeley Repertory Theatre Boston Ballet Boston Symphony Orchestra Brooklyn Academy of Music Chicago Opera Theater Chicago Shakespeare Theater Chicago Symphony Orchestra Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Cleveland Orchestra

Dallas Opera Dallas Symphony Orchestra Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra Goodman Theatre (Chicago) Guthrie Theater (Minneapolis) High Museum of Art (Atlanta) Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra Kaufman Center (New York) Los Angeles Opera McCarter Theatre Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Portland Center Stage (OR) Ruth Eckerd Hall (Clearwater, FL) San Diego Symphony San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Opera San Francisco Symphony SFJAZZ (San Francisco) Science Museum of Minnesota

Seattle Opera Seattle Symphony Orchestra Signature Theatre Company Steppenwolf Theatre Company The Shakespeare Theatre (Washington, DC) The Studio Theatre (Washington, DC) The Grand Opera House (Wilmington, DE) The Metropolitan Opera Guild The Metropolitan Opera The Whiting (Flint, MI) The Wilma Theater (Philadelphia) TheatreWorks (Silicon Valley) University of California, Santa Barbara - Arts and Lectures University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Utah Symphony | Utah Opera (Salt Lake City, UT.) Westport Country Playhouse (Westport, CT) Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (Washington, DC) Yale Repertory Theatre

In Canada

• Calgary Opera
• Harbourfront Centre
• Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony
• National Ballet of Canada
• Stratford Shakespeare Festival
• Vancouver Playhouse
• Victoria Symphony
• Vancouver Opera

In the UK

BBC National Orchestra of Wales Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre The Bridgewater Hall Glyndebourne Opera Grange Park Opera Roundhouse Royal Albert Hall Royal National Theatre Royal Shakespeare Company Royal and Derngate Theatres, Northampton Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama Southbank Centre The Hallé The Mayflower, Southampton The Sage Gateshead Wales Millennium Centre Wigmore Hall Young Vic Company Old Vic

In Ireland

• Abbey Theatre

In Australia

• Australian Brandenburg Orchestra
• Australian Chamber Orchestra
• Bell Shakespeare
• Melbourne Recital Centre
• Melbourne Theatre Company
• Opera Australia
• The Seymour Centre
• Sydney Opera House
• The Arts Centre
• The Australian Ballet

In New Zealand

• The Edge Performing Arts & Convention Centre

External links

• Official website