IT has brought joy to many but later this month, a much-loved Lancashire orchestra will be no more.

The Lancashire Sinfonietta has fallen victim to council cuts and simply cannot continue after almost a year-long break searching for funding.

It is so disappointing and sad that part of the county’s cultural offering has been forced to succumb after 17 years of entertaining and delighting audiences.

The next generation will miss out on experiencing the sounds of the orchestra and everything that brings, as well as not having the opportunity to be inspired to play themselves.

The Sinfonietta is Lancashire’s only professional chamber orchestra and had already taken a break, suspending operations last August as it frantically tried to raise enough money to carry on after its LCC grant was slashed by 80 per cent.

And while the county council, like so many others, is facing tough choices in the face of government cuts, there must surely be a way of preserving an organisation such as this.

Let’s hope a solution can still be found so this culturally-important tradition can be resurrected in the near future.