The musicians will branch out into light classics and film scores, exchange white tie and tails for something less "stuffy," and perform in an environment that is more theatrical and accompanied by extras such as digital program notes and after-concert events.
The orchestra's staff will remain at 47 members, half its recent high and far below those of other major orchestras.
Patrons will be able to count on a relationship with the orchestra on every level - on its website, by phone, in the concert hall, in the restaurants and lobby of the Kimmel Center - that makes them feel more valued than they do now.
This is the new Philadelphia Orchestra - wooing big donors, getting audiences back, balancing its budget - envisioned in a five-year strategic plan that was nine months in the making. On Monday, the orchestra board discussed it in full for the first time.
The plan promises to continue to evolve, and hinges on a steep central ambition: that the orchestra can raise $160 million to put it into action.
Whether the 69-page blueprint, being circulated to donors, can generate enough excitement to raise that amount is not clear.
"I think we're on a path where we have a good, fighting chance to do that, and I think we will succeed," orchestra chairman Richard B. Worley said.
Given the orchestra's financial troubles, administrative turnover, and audience decline in the last two decades, he and others say another rescue after this one won't be possible.
"We only get to do this once," Worley said.
Asked whether the reductions in concerts, staffing, and the artistic budget portray a Philadelphia Orchestra that is a lesser version of itself, orchestra leaders said no - and yes.
