Corey Cerovsek makes a living in music, but, for a break, he’s been working on a digital model of the human body.

J. Henry Fair

There was a time, said the Rhode Island Philharmonic’s David Wax, when you’d put on a concert and people would come. You’d ask them for money, he said, and they’d give. Not anymore.

As you may have heard, classical music is a tough sell these days.

So the 63-year-old Philharmonic, which opens its season Saturday, has come up with new ways to win converts. Recent initiatives include a night on the town following after-work concerts, a student discount card program, half-price subscriptions, and now for the first time, opening rehearsals to the public.

Wax, the orchestra’s executive director, is even talking about pops programs featuring video game music, something that has had success in other cities.

“Once we get people in the door,” said Wax, “we are good at keeping them. Our problem is getting them to come in the first place.”

Indeed, by industry standards, the Philharmonic has an enviably high renewal rate for subscriptions, around 83 percent or higher. Most orchestras, said Wax, are happy to reach 70 percent.

Still, that means the orchestra is losing about one-sixth of its subscribers each year. People move, die or find other areas of interest to occupy their time, said Wax, who came here six years ago after a stint with the Houston Symphony. To hold its own, the Philharmonic must sign up a couple hundred new subscribers each season. And that can be difficult, given the demands on people’s time and a perceived dwindling appreciation for classical music. But the Philharmonic is far from throwing in the towel.

Last year it began offering memberships in a club that is part of its popular Rush Hour Series, informal, hourlong concerts that take place Thursday nights at Veterans Memorial Auditorium. Excerpts from Saturday’s program are heard, along with a brief introduction to the music.

Now for $200, club members can attend four Rush Hour concerts, then meet afterward at the adjoining Renaissance Hotel for a glass of wine and a chance to chat. The hors d’oeuvres are free, but members pay for their drinks.

Conductor Larry Rachleff has been known to show up at these events, and an orchestra member even took out his French horn and serenaded party-goers.

“People have a good time,” said Pam Kennedy, who is in charge of marketing for the orchestra.

Wax said the club, which is sponsored, has been able to pay for itself and bring in about 35 new subscribers for the Thursday night series, which attracts about 900 listeners.

MEANWHILE, THE PHILHARMONIC just offered for a limited time half-price subscriptions, with the thinking that if people get to hear the orchestra they will continue to subscribe. Wax believes a lot of Rhode Islanders don’t know how good the part-time Philharmonic has become in recent years. When they think of orchestral music, they think of the venerable Boston Symphony Orchestra, at least an hour’s drive away. But next to the BSO and a couple of specialty orchestras such as Boston’s Handel & Haydn Society, the Philharmonic is widely considered the best regional orchestra in New England, according to Wax.

Conductor Larry Rachleff said recently that the Philharmonic sounds like a full-time orchestra.

“In my experience, in terms of orchestras with similar budgets,” said Rachleff, “I’ve found it far superior. From the podium it certainly feels like a 52-week orchestra.”

He added that a night at the Philharmonic need not be any less rewarding than one at the BSO.

“I’d like to think our people bring a special energy and daredevil approach to their commitment,” he said.

For as little as $107, subscribers who took advantage of the half-price package (no longer being offered), can attend eight classical concerts. Even if people only get to six, said Wax, it’s still a good deal.

FOR A LONG TIME the orchestra has talked about, and even tried giving, repeat performances of its monthly classical programs. But filling the 2,000-seat Veterans Memorial Auditorium a second time is a leap, and Wax fears that a repeated concert might cannibalize the audience for Saturday night.

Instead, the Philharmonic is hoping to sell tickets to three Friday night dress rehearsals, where listeners can get see how a concert is put together. Plans call for Rachleff to wear a microphone, so that his instructions to the players can be heard. The soloist will be on hand, running through the featured concerto. But there is no guarantee attendees will hear the entire program. Rachleff may just work on sections of pieces, and he may stop to tweak a phrase.

“I think it’s a great way to see the orchestral process,” said Rachleff, “and to gain a greater understanding of what’s going on.”

Tickets for rehearsals are $27 for adults, $12 for students.Single, regular-price tickets for a concert range from $27 to $65, depending on seating.

The idea of opening rehearsals to the public is nothing new. A lot of orchestras do that as a way of catering to people, often older, who don’t want to be out late and those who like the less expensive ticket price.

But Wax said the Philharmonic’s aim is primarily educational. Every student in the orchestra’s educational programs gets a free ticket and a ticket for a guest, presumably a parent, who in turn might find the rehearsals interesting enough to sign up for the Saturday night programs.

“Our aim,” said Wax, “is to make sure the music education for our kids includes an appreciation portion, seeing how a concert is put together, getting a sense of how a conductor relates to an orchestra.”

The rehearsals begin at 5:30 p.m. and last until 8, but Wax said people can leave any time before that.

The program will cost the orchestra very little, just the added expense for ushers, a fire detail and the like.

“If we wind up with 40 people it’s all right,” said Wax, “and if we end up with 600 that’s all right too.”

THE PHILHARMONIC, WHICH has an annual budget of about $4.6 million, has also been sending recruiters to local college campuses to sign up students for a discount card. For $25, students get to hear all the orchestra’s concerts, save for the pops programs at the Providence Performing Arts Center, a total of 15 events. Card holders can’t reserve seats ahead of time, but there has never been a concert where space is not available. With the average Philharmonic attendance running about 1,700, there are usually about 300 seats to spare.

But Wax believes that The Philharmonic’s greatest hope for the future just might lie in its expanded educational arm. The organization is pumping millions into education right now, primarily to renovate a building to house its growing music school.

It was back in 2000 when the Philharmonic joined forces with a community-based music school giving private lessons out of the Nathan Bishop Middle School on the East Side of Providence. There was talk at the time of the merger that the school would be a drain on the orchestra, that it would deflect the Philharmonic from its prime mission of giving concerts.

But the school just might help build the audiences of the future. Studies show direct ties between music lessons and concert attendance, said Wax. Adults who go to classical music events tend to have studied an instrument at some point in their lives, he said.

“Someone has got to be doing this,” Rachleff said of the school. “The more people who are touched by music the more people will be engaged by it.”

Wax believes the merger will become a model for orchestras around the country.

To insure the success of the new venture, the orchestra is investing about $9 million, including the $3 million purchase price, in a 50,000-square foot complex in East Providence, the former home of the Meeting Street School. Once renovations are complete, the building will house not only the orchestra’s administrative offices, but studios, classrooms and two large rehearsal halls. Those would be used by the orchestra’s youth ensembles. But there is also talk of forming choirs and bands for seniors, who would have a place to spend their afternoons.

The cost of renovations are to be covered by a $12 million capital drive that is now under way, several million of which will be used for the orchestra’s endowment. To date, it has raised about half that amount in pledges.

RATHER THAN GO THE ROUTE of repeated performances, Rachleff, now in his 12th season here, would like to boost the number of classical concerts from eight to 10, and bring back the troubled family series, which was geared to young audiences. But Wax, who has his eye on the bottom line, has reservations.

The problem facing orchestras is that each time they put on a concert they lose money. Between the cost of musicians, the hall and other expenses, the Philharmonic spends about $25,000 per concert. Ticket sales cover only a portion of that.

It used to be that the orchestra could count on sponsorships from local corporations to help defray the cost of performances. But several businesses have pulled their sponsorship. Most corporations now earmark donations for educational programs, often for minorities and disadvantaged youngsters. That helps the orchestra’s school, but not the orchestra itself.

Still, Rachleff is hopeful that the Philharmonic will be able to expand its activities.

“You’re either growing or dying,” he said, “so I hope we’re still growing. The more opportunities we get to play together the better we get.”

cgray@projo.com