EnsembleBase resources

Resources for people who run ensembles

Seating charts, ticketing, dues, payroll, season planning — practical guides written for the volunteer administrators, directors, and board members who keep community ensembles running.

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Where to start

Most people arrive here holding one specific problem. If money is the problem, the ticketing fee comparison works out what a $20 ticket really costs on five platforms, and the dues guide covers the part nobody teaches you: how to ask peers for money without spending your social capital. If the problem is a stage, the seating chart guide has the standard layout with diagrams plus the awkward cases (percussion, harp, rotating chairs). If it is January and you are staring at receipts, paying contract musicians walks the W-9 and 1099 sequence with the current IRS thresholds cited.

And if you are planning further out than next week, the season planning timeline is the pillar the rest of these hang off: a month-by-month calendar from booking venues to the thank-you email, with a worked budget you can take to a board meeting.

Guides by topic

Every guide is written for an unpaid administrator with a day job, and says where no software can fix the problem for you.

Seating & staging

How to create an orchestra seating chart

Standard and modern orchestra seating layouts explained with diagrams, a step-by-step process, and how to handle subs, section splits, and rotating chairs.

Ticketing & box office

Ticketing fees compared: what a $20 ticket really costs on each platform

Real 2026 fee math for Eventbrite, TicketSpice, TicketLeap, Brown Paper Tickets, Zeffy, and EnsembleBase on a $20 community concert ticket — who pays what, and who the optional checkout ask is for.

Ticketing & box office

How to sell tickets for a community concert

A practical playbook for selling out a community concert: pricing, the public event page, comps and discounts, door sales, scanning, and follow-up.

Money & fundraising

How to collect member dues without the awkwardness

Dues systems that work for volunteer ensembles: what to charge, payment plans, hardship policies, email scripts, and tracking that doesn't shame anyone.

Money & fundraising

Paying contract musicians: stipends, 1099s, and payroll basics

When your ensemble hires ringers: setting stipends and pay scales, contractor vs. employee rules, W-9s and 1099-NEC filing, and clean payout records.

Operations

Planning a concert season: the master timeline and checklist

A month-by-month season planning timeline for community ensembles — repertoire, venues, budget, marketing, ticketing, volunteers, and concert week.

How EnsembleBase fits your group

See how the platform handles seating, ticketing, and day-to-day operations for each kind of ensemble.

Orchestra operations

Community orchestra management software that replaces the spreadsheet stack

See how community orchestras can manage rosters, availability, reminders, dues, ticketing, concert programs, and public event pages in one ensemble-native platform.

Seating & staging

Seating chart software that starts with your roster, not a blank canvas

Build orchestra, band, and choir seating charts from your real roster: an adjustable stage template, a drag-and-drop builder, and a member portal view of every seat.

Ticketing & box office

Concert ticketing software that never takes a percentage of the ticket price

Sell concert tickets with a flat $1.00 per-ticket fee and no percentage taken. Public event pages, seat maps, door sales, and scanning included.

Choir operations

Choir management software for choruses that run on volunteer time

Manage your choir's roster, seating charts, attendance, dues, ticketing, and email in one place. Built for community choruses that run on volunteer time.

Band operations

Community band management software that replaces the six-spreadsheet system

Run your community band's roster, seating, availability, concerts, and ticketing from one workspace instead of six spreadsheets and a group email.

Getting started

Switching is the hard part. So we do it for you.

Founding customers get a free concierge migration — send us spreadsheets or Chorus Connection and Little Green Light exports and we build your workspace.

Skip the spreadsheet stack

One workspace for the people who run the ensemble.

Roster, seating, availability, email, dues, ticketing, donations, and concert programs — entered once, connected everywhere.

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