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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, May 15, 2008

SYMPHONY
Strapped symphony given $1.175M gift

By Kim Fassler
Advertiser Staff Writer

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The Honolulu Symphony's dire financial picture cleared considerably with a $1.175 million donation in the past week from one generous fan.

With the gift, the symphony was able to make up most of the pay musicians and staffers had forgone in recent months as the orchestra struggled with higher expenses and lower ticket sales.

The symphony paid the equivalent of seven weeks of back wages on Friday, said Kristin Jackson, a spokeswoman with the symphony.

Jackson would not identify the donor but said the individual has never given to the symphony before. The symphony likely will announce the donor's identity today, Jackson said.

Other symphony officials declined to comment yesterday, saying they would prefer to wait until after today's announcement.

Jackson said the symphony has been working for the past few weeks to secure the sizable donation.

The symphony had a rough year financially in part because of being displaced from the Blaisdell Concert Hall, its regular venue, by "The Lion King" tour, which ran from September to December.

The move to smaller — often more expensive venues — simultaneously cost the orchestra more money while ticket revenues decreased by at least $500,000. The regular operating budget of $6 million or $7 million rose to about $8 million.

In April, Tom Gulick, executive director of the Honolulu Symphony, said if the organization hadn't caught up on its bills and banked enough money by June 30, "the start of the next season could be in jeopardy."

Before the May 4 Spring Symphony performance at the Blaisdell Concert Hall, announcer Mike Buck said he wanted to assure fans that there would be a 2008-09 season and a 2009-10 season. The announcement was met with cheers from the audience, but Buck gave no further details.

Symphony seasons typically run from September to May, and the base salary for a musician for the nine-month season is $33,000.

Musicians and staff had been forgoing a portion of their paychecks since December.

CRITICAL DONATION

The recent donation allowed the symphony to make up most of the back pay, Jackson said. "It will bring them within four weeks of pay," she said.

Symphony officials said last month that the organization needed $1.5 million to $2 million to pull itself out of debt.

During this past legislative session, the symphony had lobbied state officials for $810,000 in emergency funding, but the proposal failed to win enough support from lawmakers.

Saturday's annual Symphony Ball at the Hawai'i Convention Center is expected to bring in additional funds. Proceeds from the event usually total from $250,000 to $400,000.

Staff writer Loren Moreno contributed to this report. Reach Kim Fassler at fassler@honoluluadvertiser.com or 954-0664.

Reach Kim Fassler at fassler@honoluluadvertiser.com.