New York's youth orchestra downsizes to survive

New York

THE Little Orchestra Society is getting littler, at least for now.

The orchestra - an important part of New York City's music scene since 1947 that has focused in recent years on classical music for children - plans to cut the number of performances it gives next season nearly in half as it tries to get back on firmer financial footing and reinvent itself to appeal to new generations of concertgoers. "We've gotten to the point where we've cut our costs administratively, we've kind of got ourselves down to bare bones, and we just want to make sure we survive," William Ohlemeyer, the president of its board, said in a recent interview.