Remember last year, when there was a budget surplus and a chance for the Legislature to loosen that belt buckle and spend some money?

That belt has been cinched back a notch or two, and the Honolulu Symphony is among those institutions that may feel the pinch.

Although it's critical that state and city governments do everything they can to help, the road ahead for the financially strapped orchestra is bound to be a tough one.

Its bid for an emergency $810,000 state grant is just one of many requests for help. In a year when there are many social service projects also going begging, arts institutions tend to slide down the priority ladder by several rungs.

This is not to say that the symphony has no friends in the Capitol. A $4 million endowment grant has been turned over to the organization to accrue interest while the hat is passed for the required matching funds.

Unfortunately, the more immediate deficit has made outreach to the community especially urgent. Musicians and staff are due roughly two months in back pay. Management fears that unless debts are erased by June 30, there may not be a season next year.

And then the orchestra, which has reached new heights of musicianship and polish under maestro Andreas Delfs, could disperse.

That would be a greater tragedy than many people realize. While the nonprofit is not an arm of government, the symphony's educational outreach in the community greatly supplements the musical programs within the school system. The orchestra members work as private teachers to budding musicians.

Averting the symphony's collapse will take focus from the management, and there are already hopeful signs. Joint ventures with for-profits are in the works; this could help stabilize revenues. The orchestra also is lining up concert series aimed at wider audiences to boost ticket sales.

The city has been offering favorable rental terms; continuing that should help for the short term.

But for the long term, it's community backing that the symphony needs. The primary mission of the orchestra's leadership is to show the residents of this state how much they need the orchestra, too.