The center has had trouble building its endowment, in part because it is still collecting the funds that were donated for its construction. It is currently working to raise $30 million by the end of 2007, which would increase the endowment to $50 million and would trigger a $6.3 million grant from several foundations.

Daniel Whelan, the chairman of the center, said that there had been no formal steps taken toward a merger, but that he had discussed the idea with Richard Smoot, the orchestra's chairman.

"To me it's a fairly straightforward business proposition," he told the paper. "Either some joint ventures, sharing of staffs, or a formal consolidation makes a lot of sense."

A spokesman for the orchestra declined to comment.