O.C. Chamber to Shrink Last 3 Concerts

COSTA MESA —  Faced with serious budget problems, the Orange County Chamber Orchestra will scale down its three remaining 1994-95 concerts at the Irvine Barclay Theatre to standard chamber-music programs.

Sunday’s program at 2:30 will be devoted to Schubert, including his Quartettsatz and the Cello Quintet. Music director Diana Halprin will also talk about the composer and his music. Programs on March 5 and May 14 will be announced.

“Obviously, the aim is to have the orchestra, not a chamber-music series,” Halprin said Thursday on a stop in the 15-hour drive to Orange County from Sante Fe, N.M., where she lives. “But the immediate thing is to try to raise funds to get an orchestra. That’s what our audience wants.”

Halprin plans to send a letter to subscribers announcing the changes and seeking their continued support.

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“There’s a large potential audience for us,” she said. “Young people are hitting the age when they’re psychologically mature enough to appreciate classical music. I believe that by introducing them more to the language of music, I can give them a hook to hang their minds on. So I’m going to take these (remaining) programs in the direction of ‘education,’ although I hate the word. But if I show them just a little bit more about the music, they will take the bit and run with it.”

Each orchestral concert costs the organization about $10,000, according to Halprin.

“I love music, but I hate the music business,” she said. “But I want to keep this orchestra alive. I’m going to give it a good try.”