HONOLULU -- Members of the Honolulu Symphony said that for the past 10-11 weeks they have not received paychecks. That changed after an anonymous donor gave the orchestra its largest donation ever from an individual.

At the Honolulu Symphony's offices in Iwilei, staffers were putting together music for auditions to fill 12 vacancies in the orchestra -- a symbol that the symphony will be back next year and into the future.

Last fall, Disney's "The Lion King" displaced the symphony from the city's Blaisdell Concert Hall for three months, forcing the symphony to play in other venues -- some of which were more expensive.

The symphony said it eventually fell 11 weeks behind in paying its 63 musicians and 25 staff, but then a woman who said she was a longtime symphony supporter and former volunteer came forward with a huge gift: $1.175 million.

"This is certainly a boost for us, and the donor is an absolute angel, literally," Honolulu Symphony Executive Director Tom Gulick said.

The donor decided she didn't want to be named publicly, and Gulick said he hopes others will step forward with more donations.

"It does not, however, solve our overall problems. We still have debt that's accumulating. We're carrying forward, and we need to raise at least $1 million-$1.5 million before next season," Gulick said.

Well-known personal injury attorney Rick Fried is heading a volunteer committee charged with making that goal.

The musicians have been paid seven weeks in back pay, and the four weeks still owed to them should be paid by the end of May, symphony officials said.

"The orchestra is filled with very dedicated people. Musicians are really dedicated to this orchestra, to this community, and so we just did everything to hang on as long as we could," 16-year symphony percussionist Steve Dinion said.