Yesterday, the bankruptcy lawyer hired by the orchestra met with its board to discuss its options. Afterwards, officials told the Courier-Journal that a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, in which the group would liquidate its assets and cease to exist, is more likely than a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, in which it would reorganize but would continue to operate.

In either case, the lawyer advised the board to delay a filing until it runs out of cash in early April.

The only way to prevent bankruptcy, board president Joe Pusateri told the paper, would be for the musicians to accept a major restructuring of their contract and the orchestra's operations.

The orchestra nearly declared bankruptcy in 2003 before reaching a last-minute deal with musicians with the help of a federal mediator.Classical Music