Laura Bowden, Tessitura's director of Administration, and Annie Burridge, CEO of Opera Philadelphia.
This may only be Annie Burridge’s second year attending TLCC, but as managing director at Opera Philadelphia she’s no stranger to the valuable learning and sharing that occurs among attendees. After attending last year’s conference Burridge realized how much more they could be doing with the Tessitura software.
“Bringing me here was the real linchpin for my staff, to see with my own eyes, oh this is what we could actually be achieving if we change the way in which we use the software," said Burridge, who is highly complimentary of the annual users conference and information gleaned there. “Tessitura is such an amazing system. “It’s really helpful to know from the top of the institution because then I can talk to my staff about the things we need to achieve and prioritize over the next year. This function and this level of reporting, we have to make sure we have this information, because it’s going to inform these other things and we can do them a lot more intelligently. In some ways, it has radically changed how we do business based on what we learn here.”
Burridge is a big fan of the executive track option that caters to top management through a stunted format and intelligently curated sessions.
“For executives, it’s a great place to come really quickly to connect with other executives at really interesting, innovative organizations who are leading the way in some area that we all care about,” said Burridge. “Whether it’s research and data, focusing on patrons, how to create the right organizational culture, or how to navigate being a new CEO, it’s all there.”
Beyond the actual material being presented at TLCC, Burridge believes there is added value in being able to meet and network with people in a number of positions and from so many different types of organizations. The lack of ego and willingness to share best practices makes for a unique experience.
“Typically, you don’t have a ton of opera companies bumping up against each other, it’s spread out, so there’s a limited level of competitiveness,” said Burridge. “I think, amazingly, that spirit continues here where you will run into a lot of organizations that are down the street from you and you are competitive for an audience and philanthropy and all those things, but I think the culture of a conference gets set by who’s running the conference. And they’ve just done a terrific job of fostering a community where people share their best ideas and their best data to inspire other people to figure out the right answers for their institutions.”
Whether they work in ticketing or development, Burridge has seen her staff come back with great tactical ideas about how to better achieve goals that have been set by the organization. Either with a new update in the software or just by picking up on a best practice or adaptation by another organization, they discover some new way to move whatever area of the strategy they’re responsible for moving along.
“This is an industry where there are a lot of people who are paid modestly to work really, really hard and who really, really care about something,” said Burridge. “So to be surrounded by other people who are similar and to have that celebrated and appreciated is a great value.”