COMMUNITY OVERWHELMS HONOLULU SYMPHONY WITH SUPPORT

825 donations received towards year-end Annual Fund campaign, orchestra performs to animated audiences for Beethoven's 9th Symphony and Burt Bacharach, City pledges support

HONOLULU - A few short weeks ago, the Honolulu Symphony revealed serious financial challenges to the public. With overwhelming response, the community has shown its support for which the staff, Board of Directors and musicians are very grateful. At the end of business on Monday, January 7th, 825 donations to the Symphony have been received from individuals, amounting to just over $450,000. Honolulu City government officials have pledged support for the Symphony, ticket sales are strong, and volunteers have been generous with their time and talents. With these funds, the Symphony has been able to meet half of the payroll due to musicians and staff during December, continue vital concert operations and move forward with education and outreach activities. For the Honolulu Symphony to move past this period of financial difficulty, the Annual Fund Campaign, Capital Campaign, and efforts to secure funding through Government resources must all be successful.

"We are all very grateful for the strong and heartfelt response from our audience members and the public over the last several weeks. We are also deeply thankful for the unflagging dedication of our musicians and the tireless work of our staff, board and volunteers. We are also grateful to the City for making Blaisdell Hall available to us rent free through January. We are moving forward with the City, State and our own Campaign Cabinet to forge a more secure future for the Honolulu Symphony. Next week we will leave for our first full orchestra tour of Maui in over 15 years--the last time the full orchestra went to Maui the Maui Arts Center had not yet been built. This tour is made possible by a federal TANF grant awarded to us through the State of Hawai'i Department of Human Services under the leadership of its Director, Lillian B. Koller. We are very pleased to continue our education and outreach efforts through this great program." --Tom Gulick, Honolulu Symphony Executive Director

"After our meeting with City officials on Christmas Eve, Symphony representatives felt genuine commitment and concern for the welfare of the Honolulu Symphony. We have taken immediate steps to incorporate these discussions into plans for the next season as the symphony continues to find new ways to serve the greater community through its mission." --Jeffrey A. Minter, Honolulu Symphony Board Chair

"The musicians of the HSO thank the community for their support which allows us to do what we do best: to serve the people of Hawai'i by providing them with the opportunity to hear a full-sized, professional orchestra, live in concert." --Paul Barrett, Orchestra Committee Chairperson and Honolulu Symphony Principal Bassoon

Annual Fund Campaign Reflects Broad Base of Individual Support

At just over $450,000 to date since December 13, 2007, the Honolulu Symphony's year-end Annual Fund campaign has been extremely successful. Based on historical giving from the last three years, this campaign was projected to generate approximately $125,000 in individual donations. As of Monday, January 7th, the Symphony has received 825 donations from individuals since beginning this year-end campaign. Development Director Keith Kadoyama states that "approximately 35% of all gifts entered over the last three weeks have been received from new contributors to the symphony, or from patrons who hadn't made a gift in several years and are stepping forward to show their renewed support." At a time when their own household income is at risk, several members of the orchestra and staff have also made donations to the Symphony. End of year fundraising campaigns typically peak at the end of the calendar year, however, development staff at the Honolulu Symphony continues to observe a steady flow of daily donations, and continues to work after hours to ensure that donations are processed on the day they are received. As with other non-profit institutions, the Symphony's Annual Fund campaign is a year-long fundraising effort which provides funds to help support the Symphony's annual operating budget.

To make a contribution to the Honolulu Symphony, please visit the Honolulu Symphony Website at www.HonoluluSymphony.com and go to the section named "Support Your Symphony," click "Donate Now." For more information, you may speak to a Development staff person directly by calling (808) 524-0815 ext. 227.

Government Support

Executive Director Tom Gulick, Board Chairman Jeffrey Minter, Capital Campaign Chair Rick Fried and Government Relations Chair Bill McCorriston met with Mayor Mufi Hannemann and Sid Quintal, Director of Enterprise Services for the City of Honolulu on Christmas Eve, at which point the City of Honolulu pledged ongoing support for the Symphony. Details of the City's support will be revealed as soon as plans are finalized. Symphony officials have also met with Honolulu City Council Chair Barbara Marshall, who has been a positive force for the Symphony, and at the Honolulu Symphony's December Board meeting, Sid Quintal, stated that "From our standpoint, immediately until things are resolved, your shows will be allowed to continue, this concert hall will be open and available... at no time will you be shut down."

Governor Linda Lingle recently communicated that the funds appropriated by Hawai'i State Legislature for the Symphony were released to the Hawai'i State Foundation for Culture and the Arts. Symphony officials are working with Hawai'i State Department of the Attorney General to reconcile interpretation of the legislation and gain ultimate release to the Honolulu Symphony Foundation of the appropriated $4M grant and interest accrued since its appropriation subject to Act 97 originally passed in 2006. Once funds are released to the Honolulu Symphony Foundation, the corpus of the appropriation can begin to make a positive difference in operational cash flow.

Contact your local government representatives directly to support funding for the Honolulu Symphony.

Attendance & Audience Support

This year, the symphony sold more tickets than ever before to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. At each concert, performances were met with thunderous applause and standing ovations, and concert-goers made donations at the hall amounting to approximately $25,000 over the weekend. With four curtain calls after each concert, audiences were incredibly vocal and demonstrative with affection and appreciation for the performances. In particular, the tone was set for the second performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony when the audience stood to applaud musicians before a note was even heard. Symphony musicians were graciously hosted for dinner following these concerts by concerned supporters. Other community members have expressed interest in becoming Board members or part of the Capital Campaign Cabinet to assist with the Symphony's commitment to a long-term financial solution. According to preliminary ticket reconciliation reports, a total of 3,585 tickets were issued to performances with Burt Bacharach last weekend, including subscriptions, single ticket purchases and sponsor tickets. Saturday's performance was almost at capacity with 2,085 tickets issued.

To purchase tickets for future Honolulu Symphony concerts, please visit the Honolulu Symphony Website at www.HonoluluSymphony.com and go to the section named "Concerts & Tickets," or click "Purchase Single Tickets."

Volunteer Support

Under the leadership of President Lori Arizumi, members of Honolulu Symphony Associates have provided well over 200 hours of service over the last few weeks. During this time, the volunteer arm of the symphony labeled, stuffed, sealed and stamped over 8,000 Annual Fund letters and has provided support by selling merchandise and collecting donations before, during and after all Symphony performances. The Symphony Associates are also actively evaluating ways in which they can better focus their efforts to support the Symphony and are recruiting new members to assist them with this task. At their Board meeting this week, the Symphony Associates also voted to make an unbudgeted gift of $5,000 to the symphony.

To become a member of the Honolulu Symphony Associates and contribute your time and talents as a volunteer, please visit the Honolulu Symphony website (www.HonoluluSymphony.com) to download an informational flyer and membership form in the section titled "About Your Symphony."

Education and Outreach Activities

Continuing to contribute to the education of children statewide, the Honolulu Symphony will carry out its plan to return to Maui in mid-January with free performances in the schools, free Youth Concerts at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center on the morning of January 17th, and a free Community Concert at the MACC on January 17th at 7:00PM with guest conductor Aaron Mahi and special guest Raiatea Helm. This education tour is funded through a federal TANF (Temporary Aid for Needy Families) grant which was allocated by Hawai'i's Department of Human Services headed by Director Lillian B. Koller. The purpose of this touring program-which has already taken symphony musicians to Maui and to Hawai'i Island this fall-is to provide safe, structured, educationally beneficial services that promote youth development in the performing arts. "The arts not only help heal communities, but they also help prevent negative outcomes for our children, and the response from our recent visits to the neighbor islands has been overwhelmingly positive," says Jon Magnussen, the Symphony's director of education. So far this season, the Honolulu Symphony has touched the lives of Hawai'i youth through more than 190 programs in schools on Oahu, Maui and Hawai'i Island, and eight Youth concerts where students were bused in to venues all over the island of Oahu including Mamiya Theatre, Hawai'i Theatre, BYU- Hawai'i 's Cannon Center in L?'ie.