Tessitura is an

enterprise application Enterprise software, also known as enterprise application software (EAS), is computer software used to satisfy the needs of an organization rather than individual users. Such organizations include businesses, schools, interest-based user groups, ...

used by

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...

and cultural organisations to manage their activities in ticketing,

fundraising Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

, 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 Metropolitan Opera of New York. One of the aspects which distinguishes Tessitura from most other commercial software is the business model chosen by the Metropolitan Opera to commercialize what was originally custom 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 A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

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 for the dominance Tessitura has rapidly achieved in the (deliberately restricted) market in which it operates–English-speaking,

not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

, arts organizations with a need for ticketing and fundraising systems.

System functionality

The Tessitura system is designed to be flexible, customizable, and open, and therefore can be tailored for each organization. Functional areas include ticketing,

, constituent relationship management, Web API, and

marketing tool Marketing strategy allows organizations to focus limited resources on best opportunities to increase sales and achieve a competitive advantage in the market. Strategic marketing emerged in the 1970s/80s as a distinct field of study, further build ...

Notable users

In the United States

5th Avenue Theatre The 5th Avenue Theatre is a landmark theatre located in Seattle's Skinner Building, in the U.S. state of Washington. It has hosted a variety of theatre productions and motion pictures since it opened in 1926. The building and land are owned b ...

(Seattle) *

92nd Street Y 92nd Street Y, New York (92NY) is a cultural and community center located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, at the corner of East 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Founded in 1874 as the Young Men's Hebrew Association, the ...

(New York City) * Academy of Vocal Arts (Philadelphia) *

ACT Theatre ACT Theatre (originally A Contemporary Theatre) is a regional, non-profit theatre organization in Seattle, in the US state of Washington. Gregory A. Falls (1922–1997) founded ACT in 1965 and served as its first Artistic director; at the time ACT ...

(Seattle) * Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County * American Repertory Theater * Arena Stage (Washington, D.C.) * Arizona Science Center (Phoenix, Arizona) * Asolo Repertory Theatre (Sarasota, Florida) *

Atlanta Opera The Atlanta Opera is an opera company located in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Founded in 1979, it produces mainstage opera productions and arts education programs for Metropolitan Atlanta and the Southeast. In 2007, The Atlanta Opera moved into ...

* Atlanta Ballet * Atlanta Symphony Orchestra *

AT&T Performing Arts Center The AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas, Texas, preliminarily referred to as the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts, is a $354-million multi-venue center in the Dallas Arts District for performances of opera, musical theater, classic and exp ...

(Dallas) *

Austin Opera Austin Opera, formerly known as the Austin Lyric Opera, is an opera company based in Austin, Texas. The company was founded in 1986. Its key personnel include Annie Burridge as general director, and Timothy Myers as artistic advisor. In January 20 ...

(Austin, Texas) *

Austin Symphony Orchestra The Austin Symphony Orchestra is the oldest performing group in Austin, Texas, USA. It was founded in 1911. History The inaugural concert was held on April 25, 1911. Initially, the orchestra consisted of 28 unpaid members and an unpaid conductor. ...

(Austin, Texas) *

Ballet Austin Ballet Austin is the 12th largest classical ballet company in the US, and also operates the largest combined training facility associated with a professional ballet company in the United States. Each year the Ballet Austin company performs ball ...

(Austin, Texas) * Baltimore Symphony Orchestra * Berkeley Repertory Theatre *

Boston Ballet The Boston Ballet is an American professional classical ballet company based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1963 by E. Virginia Williams and Sydney Leonard, and was the first professional repertory ballet company in New England. I ...

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881, ...

Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a performing arts venue in Brooklyn, New York City, known as a center for progressive and avant-garde performance. It presented its first performance in 1861 and began operations in its present location in ...

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

* Celebrity Series of Boston * Center Theatre Group (Los Angeles) * Chicago Opera Theater * Chicago Shakespeare Theater * Chicago Symphony Orchestra * Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra * Cleveland Museum of Natural History * Cleveland Orchestra *

Colorado Symphony Orchestra The Colorado Symphony is an American symphony orchestra located in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1989 as the successor to the Denver Symphony Orchestra, the Colorado Symphony performs in Boettcher Concert Hall, located in the Denver Performing ...

* Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (New York) * Dallas Opera *

Dallas Symphony Orchestra The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Dallas, Texas. Its principal performing venue is the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in the Arts District of downtown Dallas. History The orchestra traces its origins to a ...

Detroit Symphony Orchestra The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood. Jader Bignamini is the current music d ...

* Florida Studio Theatre * Folger Shakespeare Library * Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra * Georgia Aquarium (Atlanta) * Goodman Theatre (Chicago) *

Grand Opera House (Wilmington, Delaware) The Grand Opera House, also known as The Grand or Masonic Hall and Grand Theater, is a 1,208-seat theater for the performing arts in Wilmington, Delaware, United States. The four-story building was built in 1871 by the Delaware Grand Lodge of Mason ...

Guthrie Theater The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is a center for theater performance, production, education, and professional training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The concept of the theater was born in 1959 in a series of discussions between Sir Tyrone Gut ...

(Minneapolis) * High Museum of Art (Atlanta) * Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra * Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston) * Ithaca College (Ithaca, New York) *

Jacksonville Symphony The Jacksonville Symphony is an orchestra based in Jacksonville, Florida. Concert hall As one of a handful of American orchestras with its own dedicated concert hall, the Jacksonville Symphony performs the majority of its programs in the Robe ...

(Jacksonville, FL) * Jacob's Pillow * James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art (St. Petersburg, FL) *

Jazz at Lincoln Center Jazz at Lincoln Center is part of Lincoln Center in New York City. The organization was founded in 1987 and opened at Time Warner Center in October 2004. Wynton Marsalis is the artistic director and the leader of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orches ...

(New York) *

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

(Washington, D.C.) *

Kaufman Music Center Kaufman Music Center is a performing arts complex in New York City that houses Lucy Moses School, Special Music School, and Merkin Hall and the "Face the Music" program. Originally known as the Hebrew Arts School, it was founded in 1952 and is c ...

(New York City) * Laguna Playhouse *

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

* Los Angeles Master Chorale *

Los Angeles Opera The Los Angeles Opera is an American opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth-largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center. Leadersh ...

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...

Lyric Opera of Kansas City Lyric Opera of Kansas City is an American opera company located in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1958 by conductor Russell Patterson, the company presents an annual season of four operas at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Produc ...

* Miami City Ballet * McCarter Theatre (Princeton, New Jersey) *

Minnesota Opera Minnesota Opera is a performance organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was founded as the Center Opera Company in 1963 by the Walker Art Center, and is known for premiering such diverse works as ''Where the Wild Things Are'' by Oliver ...

(Minneapolis, Minnesota) * Minnesota Zoo * Missouri Botanical Garden * Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City) * Metropolitan Opera (New York City) * The Metropolitan Opera Guild (New York) *

Mondavi Center The Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts venue located on the UC Davis campus in unincorporated Yolo County, California. It is named for arts patron and vineyard operator Robert Mondavi, who donated US$10 ...

(Davis, California) * Mount Vernon * The Music Center at Strathmore (Rockville, MD) *

Nashville Opera Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

(Nashville, Tennessee) *

National Geographic Museum The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, and ...

(Washington, D.C.) * New Victory Theater (New York City) *

New World Symphony (orchestra) The New World Symphony is an American orchestral academy based in Miami Beach, Florida. Established in 1987, the organization is a training ensemble for young musicians in preparation for professional careers in classical music. Since 2011, the ...

(Miami Beach, Florida) * New York Philharmonic (New York City) *

Opera Philadelphia Opera Philadelphia (prior to 2013 Opera Company of Philadelphia (OCP)) is an American opera company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is the city's only company producing grand opera. The organization produces one festival in September (Festival O ...

* Opera Theatre of Saint Louis * Oregon Shakespeare Festival *

Peace Center The Peace Center is a performing arts center located in Greenville, South Carolina. It is composed of a concert hall, theater, and amphitheatre. Located adjacent to Falls Park, the center hosts over 300 events each year, including classical music ...

(Greenville, South Carolina) * Pennsylvania Ballet * Perot Museum of Nature and Science (Dallas) *

Pittsburgh Cultural Trust The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust (PCT) is a nonprofit arts organization formed in 1984 to promote economic and cultural development in Downtown Pittsburgh. The "Trust" has focused its work on a 14-square block section called the Cultural District, wh ...

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...

Phoenix Symphony The Phoenix Symphony is an American symphony orchestra based in Phoenix, Arizona. The orchestra performs primarily at Phoenix Symphony Hall, and is the only full-time, professional orchestra in the state of Arizona. History Founded in 1947, the ...

Portland Center Stage Portland Center Stage at The Armory is a theater company based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Theater productions are presented at The Armory in Portland's Pearl District. Portland Center Stage at The Armory was founded in 1988 as the nort ...

(Oregon) *

Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts The Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College is a performance hall located in the Hudson Valley hamlet of Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The center provides audiences with performances and programs in orchestral, chamber, ...

(Annandale-on-Hudson, New York) * Ruth Eckerd Hall (Clearwater, Florida) * San Diego Symphony * San Francisco Ballet * San Francisco Museum of Modern Art * San Francisco Opera *

San Francisco Symphony The San Francisco Symphony (SFS), founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The San Fr ...

* SFJAZZ (San Francisco) * San Jose Repertory Theatre * Science Museum of Minnesota * Seattle Children's Theatre * Seattle Opera * Seattle Symphony * Segerstrom Center for the Arts * Shakespeare Theatre Company (Washington, DC) *

The Shed (Hudson Yards) The Shed (formerly known as Culture Shed and Hudson Yards Cultural Shed) is a cultural center in Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York City. Opened on April 5, 2019, the Shed commissions, produces, and presents a wide range of activities in perfor ...

(New York City) *

Signature Theatre Company Signature Theatre Company is an American theatre based in Manhattan, New York. It was founded in 1991 by James Houghton and is now led by Artistic Director Paige Evans. Signature is known for their season-long focus on one artist's work. It has be ...

(New York City) * Smith Center for the Performing Arts (Las Vegas) * Steppenwolf Theatre Company (Chicago) * St. Louis Symphony * Studio Theatre (Washington, D.C.) * Tennessee Performing Arts Center (Nashville, Tennessee) * Texas Ballet Theater (Fort Worth) * TheatreWorks (Silicon Valley) *

Tulsa Opera Tulsa Opera is an American opera company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Originally an amateur performance group named the Tulsa Opera Club (established 1948), the company was incorporated as a professional organization in 1953. Performances for the c ...

University Musical Society The University Musical Society (UMS) is a not-for-profit performing arts presenter located on the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It was established in December 1880. While UMS is affiliated with the University of ...

(Ann Arbor, Michigan) * University of California, Berkeley – Cal Performances * University of California, Santa Barbara – Arts and Lectures * University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill * Utah Symphony – Utah Opera (Salt Lake City) * Walker Art Center (Minneapolis, Minnesota) * Westport Country Playhouse (Westport, Connecticut) * The Whiting (Flint, Michigan) * Wilma Theater (Philadelphia) *

Witte Museum The Witte Museum was established in 1926 and is located in Brackenridge Park in San Antonio, Texas. It is dedicated to telling the stories of Texas, from prehistory to the present. The permanent collection features historic artifacts and photograp ...

(San Antonio, Texas) * Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (Washington, DC) * Yale Repertory Theatre (New Haven, Connecticut)

In Canada

Aga Khan Museum The Aga Khan Museum (french: Musée Aga Khan) is a museum of Islamic art, Iranian (Persian) art and Muslim culture located at 77 Wynford Drive in the North York district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum is dedicated to Islamic art and obj ...

(Toronto, Ontario) *

Alberta Theatre Projects Alberta Theatre Projects ("ATP") is a professional, not-for-profit, Canadian theatre company, founded in 1972 by Lucille Wagner and Douglas Riske, currently based out of the Martha Cohen Theatre in Arts Commons, in Calgary, Alberta. The compan ...

(Calgary, Alberta) * Arts Club Theatre Company (Vancouver, British Columbia) * Calgary Opera *

Edmonton Opera Edmonton Opera is a professional Canadian opera company in Edmonton, Alberta, which performs in the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium with its Opera Centre located at 15230 128 Ave in northwest Edmonton. The Opera Centre is home to a box office, ...

* Edmonton Symphony Orchestra * Harbourfront Centre (Toronto, Ontario) *

Kitchener–Waterloo Symphony The Kitchener–Waterloo Symphony (KWS) is an orchestra based in the twin cities of Kitchener and Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Its home venue is Centre In The Square in Kitchener, Ontario. The orchestra comprises 52 professional musicians under fu ...

* National Ballet of Canada (Toronto, Ontario) * Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre * Royal Winnipeg Ballet * Science North (Sudbury, Ontario) * Shaw Festival (Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario) * Soulpepper Theatre Company *

Stratford Shakespeare Festival The Stratford Festival is a theatre festival which runs from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson (theatre producer), Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was fo ...

* Theatre Calgary * Toronto Symphony Orchestra * Vancouver Opera * Vancouver Playhouse *

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The VSO performs at the Orpheum, which has been the orchestra's permanent home since 1977. With an annual operating budget of $16 million, it is ...

* Victoria Symphony

In the UK

* Almeida Theatre (London) * BBC National Orchestra of Wales (Cardiff) * Birmingham Hippodrome (The UK's busiest theatre) * The Bridgewater Hall * The British Museum * Donmar Warehouse (London) *

English National Ballet English National Ballet is a classical ballet company founded by Dame Alicia Markova and Sir Anton Dolin as London Festival Ballet and based in London, England. Along with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish ...

* Glyndebourne Festival Opera *

Grange Park Opera Grange Park Opera is a professional opera company and charity whose base is West Horsley Place in Surrey, England. Founded in 1998, the company staged an annual opera festival at The Grange, in Hampshire and in 2016–7, built a new opera hous ...

* The Hallé (Manchester) * The Old Vic (London) * The Roundhouse (London) * The Royal & Derngate (Northampton) *

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...

(London) *

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

(London) *

Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

(London) * Royal Opera House (London) *

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

(Stratford-upon-Avon) *

Sage Gateshead Sage Gateshead is a concert venue and musical education centre in Gateshead on the south side of the River Tyne in North East England. Opened in 2004 and occupied by North Music Trust it is part of the Gateshead Quays development which incl ...

Southbank Centre Southbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues in London, England, on the South Bank of the River Thames (between Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo Bridge). It comprises three main performance venues (the Royal Festival Hall including the Nat ...

(London) * Tate * Theatre Royal, Plymouth *

Wales Millennium Centre Wales Millennium Centre ( cy, Canolfan Mileniwm Cymru) is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of . Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of the 26–28 November 2004 an ...

(Cardiff) * Wigmore Hall (London) * Young Vic Company (London)

In Ireland

* Abbey Theatre (Dublin)

In Australia

Adelaide Symphony Orchestra The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (ASO) is a South Australian performing arts organisation comprising 75 full-time musicians, established in 1936. Based in Adelaide, South Australia, the orchestra's primary performance venue is the Adelaide Town Ha ...

* Australian Museum (Sydney) * Arts Centre Melbourne * The Australian Ballet (Melbourne) * Australian Brandenburg Orchestra (Sydney) *

Australian Centre for the Moving Image ACMI, formerly the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, is Australia's national museum of film, television, videogames, and art. ACMI was established in 2002 and is based at Federation Square in Melbourne, Victoria. During the 2014-15 finan ...

(Melbourne) * National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne) * Australian Chamber Orchestra * Bell Shakespeare * Belvoir * Melbourne Festival * Melbourne Recital Centre *

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an Australian orchestra based in Melbourne. The MSO is resident at Hamer Hall. The MSO has its own choir, the MSO Chorus, following integration with the Melbourne Chorale in 2008. The MSO relies on f ...

* Melbourne Theatre Company * Museum of Old and New Art * National Gallery of Australia * Opera Australia (Sydney) * Perth Theatre Trust * Queensland Symphony Orchestra * State Theatre Company of South Australia *

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in The Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney, as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Thea ...

* Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra * Western Australian Museum

In New Zealand

* Auckland War Memorial Museum *

The Edge Performing Arts & Convention Centre Auckland Live and Auckland Conventions, Venues & Events (ALAC), (formerly known as The Edge) presents live arts performances and events at venues across Auckland, New Zealand. ALAC presents live arts performances and events at several prominent ve ...

(Auckland)

Notable former users

In the UK

* Opera Holland Park (London)

References

External links

* * {{YouTube, user=TessituraNetwork Customer relationship management software 2000 software Metropolitan Opera