An integrated system and software package for creating and performing a musical score including a user interface that enables a user to enter and display the musical score, a database that stores a data structure which supports graphical symbols for musical characters in the musical score and performance generation data that is derived from the graphical symbols, a musical font that includes a numbering system that corresponds to the musical characters, a compiler that generates the performance generation data from the database, a performance generator that reads the performance generation data from the compiler and synchronizes the performance of the musical score, and a synthesizer that responds to commands from the performance generator and creates preassembled data for acoustical playback of the musical score that is output to a sound generation device. The synthesizer generates the data for acoustical playback from a proprietary library of digital sound samples.