He would try to solve the mechanism of an orchestra for himself, and ascertain as he went along the relation that each portion bore to the other.

When, therefore, in 1913, the president of the Philadelphia Orchestra Association asked him to become a member of its Board of Directors, his acceptance was a natural step in the gradual development of his interest in orchestral music.
The public support given to orchestras now greatly interested Bok.

He was surprised to find that every symphony orchestra had a yearly deficit.

This he immediately attributed to faulty management; but on investigating the whole question he learned that a symphony orchestra could not possibly operate, at a profit or even on a self-sustaining basis, because of its weekly change of programme, the incessant rehearsals required, and the limited number of times it could actually play within a contracted season.

An annual deficit was inevitable.
He found that the Philadelphia Orchestra had a small but faithful group of guarantors who each year made good the deficit in addition to paying for its concert seats.