Contributed by Lisa McColgan, Annual Fund Coordinator
I recently got back from a software conference where - in addition to
making a presentation in which the red sheep from Candide were
prominently featured - I ate meals in a giant ballroom with around 1,200 arts
administrators, pocketed several teeny-weeny bottles of Tabasco from the buffet
line, and performed in a rock band on the flight deck of the storied USS
Midway.
One generally doesn't equate "software conference" with "a real good
time." That is, unless one works with Tessitura.
Tessitura is "the leading enterprise-wide, fully integrated software system
for arts and cultural organizations." It was originally developed by, and
for, The Metropolitan Opera. Once they realized what a good thing they had,
they decided it would be silly not to share it. The Huntington has been using
Tessitura since 2004. How popular is it becoming? Well, at the first Tessitura
conference I attended (here in Boston in 2005), there were 550 attendees
representing about 90 organizations. This year, in San Diego, there were over
1,200 folks from over 350 organizations in 6 different countries. Chances are,
if you've bought a ticket, made a donation, or asked to be sent information
about an upcoming performance, you've indirectly dealt with Tessitura.
