People rarely know just what they want to do with their lives; it's even rarer when they figure it out by age 6.

"I was on a cruise to Alaska with my family, and I heard a violinist playing. As soon as I heard the music, I turned to my mom and said, 'That's what I want to do,' " said Gina DiCarlo, the 17-year-old concertmaster of the newly formed Allegretto Youth Chamber Orchestra.

"It was fate, I guess," DiCarlo said, "because all these years later, that's still exactly what I want to do."

DiCarlo and a few dozen of the best young musicians in Lancaster County will perform in Allegretto's debut concert, "It's About Time," at 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11, at Franklin & Marshall College's Barshinger Center for Musical Arts.

The concert will feature Haydn's Symphony No. 101 ("The Clock"), Arlen Clarke's "Nocturne for Julia," Felix Mendelssohn's "Hebrides Overture" and the Symphony No. 5 of William Boyce.

Le petit Allegro
Brian Norcross, artistic director of the adult Allegro Chamber Orchestra of Lancaster, said the idea for a youth version of the same had been floating around for nearly a decade, but only in 2008 did the organizers get serious about rounding up the county's top talent.

"Our group [the 35-member Allegro Chamber Orchestra] was founded nine years ago at a birthday party to bring 'intimate' chamber music to Lancaster," Norcross said. "The idea of having a youth orchestra alongside Allegro also popped up, but because of organizational challenges, we figured it was better to just tackle one project at a time.

"About a year ago, we started feeling that it was time to start up the youth chamber orchestra. So we organized a board, held auditions and put together a season," Norcross said, "though at the moment we're not being funded by any grants, so all of our money has to come from registration fees from student players, ticket sales and donations."

Allegretto, he said, offers something that its student performers might not otherwise encounter in a high school music program. Because a chamber orchestra is smaller, every musician is forced to become a soloist. "In a larger group you can learn to hide. Plus, your individual creativity is diminished because you have to fit in with everyone else," said Norcross, who directs Allegretto. "In a chamber orchestra, though, you have to learn to stay on your toes."

For the audience, he said, a youth orchestra offers something different than what classical music enthusiasts customarily find in a concert hall, especially when they realize the young people on stage are the best of the best.

"The wonderful thing about high school students is that they take risks," Norcross said.  "They will try anything and everything with an incredible enthusiasm, and that's something you just won't find in other environments."

Youthful zeal
DiCarlo knows a thing or two about enthusiasm. She attended Lancaster Catholic High School before realizing that her days in school were swallowing up time to practice the violin. So after talking it over with her parents, she decided to leave traditional education behind and enroll in the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School.

"Most of it is done through the computer. There's a teacher and other students, and you can even write on a virtual chalkboard," DiCarlo said.

Other times, the school will mail her a course, complete with a textbook, lesson planner and, yes, homework. That allows her to complete her required courses in subjects like history, math and English on her own schedule.

"This kind of schooling is incredibly helpful to those of us who were born with a specific kind of talent and need a flexible schedule for, say, concert hall performances and practice time," she said. "And by allowing that flexibility, I think I've even been able to do more than I would in an ordinary school. ... For example, most high school students usually take only one language. So far, I've been able to take French, Spanish and Latin."

DiCarlo is using what free time she has to figure out her next move, including whether to get a narrower, but more focused, musical education from a conservatory or a broad-based education from a university.

"Right now, I'm leaning more toward a university because I think one day I'd like to teach," DiCarlo said. "So I'm checking out schools like Northwestern University in Chicago and NYU in New York," though she said she's keeping her options open.

Coming to see an Allegretto concert, DiCarlo said, is about more than just supporting an innovative chamber orchestra; it's about joining a classical community that just happens to be made up of young people.

"Even for those in the audience who might be new to the idea of exploring classical music," she said, "it's still a good time."

Following the Oct. 11 performance, Allegretto's three-concert season continues Jan. 31 with a program titled "Old Wine in New Bottles," featuring works of Schubert, Beethoven, Aaron Copland and 20th-century British composer Peter Warlock.

On May 2, the group will conclude with performances of works by Gioachino Rossini, Mozart, Ottorino Respighi and 19th-century Russian Romantic composer Alexander Borodin in a concert titled "Ancient New."

Tickets for Allegretto's debut concert, "It's About Time," cost $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. Children under 16 are admitted free. Tickets are available at the door. For more information visit allegrettoyouth.org.