We've been hearing a lot of discouraging news from the Honolulu Symphony, a phenomenal ensemble that knocks the socks off audiences and visiting performers alike. While the symphony has had its ups and downs recently, the economic slump has brought it to the brink of bankruptcy. The symphony board — led by the dynamic Peter Shaindlin, whose Halekulani Hotel has been supporting the Symphony with annual in-kind contributions of some $600,000 — and new Executive Director Majken Mechling appear to have determined that the path to viability is to dramatically shrink the orchestra, already one of the country's smallest.

This needs to be rethought. Why? Because most classical and pops concerts require the symphony's current 84 to 89 musicians.

A smaller orchestra could perform 18th-century works by Bach, Vivaldi and Mozart, written mainly for strings. But the great 19th- and 20th-century composers — Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and so many others — wrote for a much larger orchestra, with substantial brass, woodwinds and percussion. A small orchestra simply can't play "classical hits" such as Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" or Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue." It is not realistic to expect an orchestra limited mostly to 18th-century music to serve a community of Honolulu's size.

Cutting the symphony would greatly undermine its educational outreach mission, which touches 20,000 students statewide each year, and endanger its Music Acceleration Program at Nänäkuli Elementary School. There would be fewer musicians to coach the Hawaii Youth Symphony and Maui Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, teach at the University of Hawai'i (symphony musicians make up half the UH music faculty) and give lessons to more than 1,000 students.

If downsizing the orchestra is self-defeating, what can we do? Here are a couple of ideas, and I'm sure all the good minds in this community — because this effort must involve the whole community — can come up with many more:

• Expand the audience. At present, the symphony gets only 30 percent of its income from tickets sold. The symphony needs to greatly expand its audience by tapping all the people who think they don't know or like symphonic music. Many don't realize that classical music is all around us, in popular songs, movies, TV themes, ads, cartoons. If people who think they won't enjoy a classical concert attended one, most would love it, and the symphony's audience and donor base would mushroom.

How can these people be brought in? First, ensure that all concerts include familiar and easily enjoyed music. Then, because there are always empty seats, tell regular concert-goers they can bring friends who have never attended a symphony concert — for free. Many will become paying customers.

• Tap new funding sources. Right now, the state's "Art in Public Places" program spends 1 percent of the cost of new government buildings to acquire paintings and sculptures by Hawai'i artists. Supporting the arts is great, but why should all this money go only to painters and sculptors? Much of the art is gathering dust in warehouses! Why shouldn't this program also support music, dance/hula, theater, literature? Some of it could help the symphony.

These are just a couple of ideas. Surely there are more out there. Once an innovative action plan takes shape, with the symphony and musicians together taking creative, energetic steps, I'm confident that donors will be found to help overcome its immediate funding shortfall.

Some years ago I served on the symphony board. I also served eight years as founding chair of Hawaii Public Radio. Few thought it would survive, but today it enjoys broad support. I know the audience for symphonic music, and it's not just an "elite." With a little energy and imagination, Hawai'i can find a way to support its symphony. But we must act fast. Some musicians are looking for work elsewhere. Once they're gone, trying to reassemble the orchestra will be like trying to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.

I've offered my services to the symphony board of directors and musicians, and I call on the community — individuals and businesses, public and private sectors, lovers of classics and pops — to join me in finding solutions that will save this irreplaceable resource.

We must not let the music die away. We can do better.