Vowing to move forward with the bottom line in mind, the cash-strapped Colorado Symphony Orchestra unveiled a new, consumer-first business model Monday that managers hailed as pathway to a financially secure future.

The plan changes the way the CSO does business, putting more emphasis on earned income rather than donations, working closely with educational groups and corporations to demonstrate its value beyond music-making and using newer technologies, such as video screens during concerts and social networking sites, to help it connect with contemporary audiences.

Artistically, the plan plays down the organization’s middle name by diminishing its emphasis on large symphonic pieces. The CSO will still play Beethoven and Brahms masterworks at Boettcher Concert Hall downtown, but will also perform more intimate programs of chamber music, and pieces for quartets and quintets at smaller venues across the region. Those concerts will require fewer musicians and greatly reduce labor costs per concert.

The business model keeps intact a union-based orchestra of around 80 players, rejecting an idea that had surfaced to use all musicians on a freelance basis, hiring different groups of players depending on the day’s demands.

“Orchestras get better the same way football teams get better — by playing together,” Jerome Kern, who stepped in as CSO board co-chair two months ago.

The new plan, assembled under the title “Creating a 21st Century Orchestra,” was cobbled together by the CSO’s “3.0 Committee,” a majority of whose members were musicians. To make the plan possible, the musician’s guild last week agreed to several changes in its complicated work rules.

While not specific, the agreement allows the CSO to experiment with concerts and employ musicians with greater flexibility outside of Boettcher. As much as 20 percent of the time musicians play can be used in this way.

“We don’t know how it will all pan out, but the musicians said, “Hey, we’ll go with the flow,” said cellist Matt Switzer, who helped negotiate the changes.

Overall, the CSO plan calls for modest increases in its budget over the next four years, from $12.7 million currently to $14 million in fiscal year 2014. That number coincides with an expected $2.2 million revenue increase predicted from ticket sales, concert fees and other income opportunities.

But it also promises major overhauls in the CSO’s relationship with Colorado, rejecting a culture where the “notion of relevance was defined by the institution, not by the community it served.” Rather, it draws a picture of an orchestra that connects with audiences in classrooms, at hospitals, in corporate lobbies and in performance venues scattered across the region.

Kern envisions some shorter concerts with audience-friendly programs, along with a an early Thursday-evening series to capture the after-work crowd. The CSO would work with businesses to develop concerts they could use to entertain clients or employees, offer more programs to schools in an age where arts education has dwindled, and create musical-therapy programs.

All of those efforts could draw additional financial support from business, government and foundations, while a closer relationship with ticket buyers would bring in private donations (one idea calls for a “concierge service” to work with concertgoers) .

For audiences, the changes could mean more choices in concert going. The plan calls for the creation of Colorado Symphony Chamber Orchestra phased in next year with a full season planned for 2013-14. The symphony has had success with its programs at local churches and hopes to follow that up by creating a range of ensemble groups to play in in community centers and suburban theaters.

For musicians, the plan’s success could mean continued financial stability and the chance to perform new repertoire. The opportunity for players from large orchestras to shine in smaller ensembles is rare in Colorado.

“All the musicians would look at that a real plus,” said Switzer.

Ray Mark Rinaldi: 303-954-1540 or rrinaldi@denverpost.com

