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Officials: Honolulu Symphony Could Face Bankruptcy

City Wants Answers About Organization's Financial Stability

POSTED: 4:28 pm HST November 2, 2009
UPDATED: 8:23 pm HST November 2, 2009

Just two months after the Honolulu Symphony announced a financial reorganization with an infusion of nearly $2 million to pay past debts, there are new questions about its financial stability.

The symphony may be filing for bankruptcy and putting off or canceling some of its concert dates, sources said.

KITV has learned city officials threatened to bar the symphony from rehearsing at the Neal S. Blaisdell Concert Hall unless symphony leaders answered questions about plans for the rest of the season and the orchestra's financial condition.

The 110-year-old Honolulu Symphony had a tough year. Last season, it was 3.5 months behind in paying its musicians and staff because of financial problems. In September, symphony employees agreed to a 15-percent wage cut and the season got under way with $1.8 million in extra money from the symphony foundation.

Now there are new problems.

"Everyone's concerned. It's unfortunate that they continue to have these financial anchors that just weigh them down," city Enterprise Services Director Sidney Quintal said.

The city's Enterprise Services Department rents the Blaisdell Concert Hall to the symphony. Quintal said people have told him in the last few days that the symphony may file for bankruptcy and postpone all eight of its November concert dates. So, he has been trying to contact symphony officials, but many of their symphony cell phones have been disconnected so they cannot be reached.

"What we are concerned about is a lack of communication on their part to tell us what is going on," Quintal said.

Quintal has a previously scheduled meeting for late Tuesday afternoon with symphony officials to find out the latest on the organization's finances.

"Wanting to find out what is going on, what can we do to assist, if in any way," Quintal said.

In four sets of symphony concerts so far this season, there have only been audiences of between 1,200 and 1,600 people, in the hall at the Blaisdell Center that seats 2,100, the city said. However, only half the audiences this fall have been paying ticket holders, the city said the other half attended with free tickets given away by the symphony.

The orchestra has already postponed one set of concerts this weekend for budgetary reasons, but has yet to reschedule them for specific dates next year.

If the symphony postpones or cancels more concert dates, the city will try to find other acts to fill those dates in the concert hall and bring in revenue.

"We have to go out and try to replace that, because we do try to operate on a balanced budget program," Quintal said.

The symphony's executive director, who just took over in September. and the chairman of the symphony's board did not return KITV's phone calls on Monday.

A musicians' union spokesman said they too have been calling symphony management for the last few days to get updates and have heard no response, which he called "inexcusable."

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