In Perfect Harmony – Sydney Symphony Orchestra joins forces with Symphona, Australia’s First Orchestral Rostering Application.
Symphona, a roster management app for the classical music industry, is proud to announce its collaboration with Sydney Symphony Orchestra. The app was created by musician James Menzies, originally from Sydney, now based in Tasmania and his business partners Tiffany and Jeremy Ashdown. Symphona aims to change the way orchestras and musicians manage their rosters, schedules and arrangements with casual musicians.
After COVID-19 crippled the performing arts industry in 2020, Menzies saw a need for a more streamlined method of communication between orchestras and musicians whilst undertaking a Diploma of IT. The Symphona team has since graduated from the Enterprize Tasmania Born Global Incubator program, an intensive 12-week course designed to help Tasmanian startups competitively position themselves in their relevant markets.
Throughout 2023 Symphona will support the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s Fellowship – an annual program that offers young artists the opportunity to perform with the Orchestra, work with world-renowned artists, and be mentored by Sydney Symphony musicians to develop the skills for a professional career in music. Symphona will allow the 2023 Fellows easier navigation of the Orchestra’s busy performance schedule as they are immersed in the ins-and-outs of a professional orchestra.
Symphona’s work with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra is a testament to the potential to change the game for musicians and orchestras across the globe.
Symphona has already demonstrated the need of orchestras globally with the application garnering interest from orchestras in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and the UK.
“We’re proud to bring a Tasmanian app to the market that we hope will change the game for musicians and orchestras across the globe,” said Tiffany Ashdown, Symphona’s CEO. “Orchestras face the problem of communicating really complex schedules that change as the music changes, and Symphona addresses these by delivering a method for communication between orchestras and musicians, clearer than an email. This means orchestras can spend more time focusing on delivering world-class live performance experiences for audiences.”
Tasmanian Attorney-General and Minister for the Arts, the Hon Elise Archer, commends Symphona on this Australian-first innovation.
“It’s exciting to see the entrepreneurial spirit on display with Tasmanian developers like Symphona being embraced by our national cultural institutions. I note Symphona aims to address what it sees as a need within our music community, and I look forward to hearing more about the outcomes of this partnership, and to seeing the benefits of this app for musicians and arts organisations alike.”