More than 50 Honolulu Symphony ticket holders have asked for refunds since the symphony announced it will file for bankruptcy protection and cancel the remainder of its 2009 performances.

Majken Meching, the symphony's executive director, said her office has received more than 150 calls from patrons since Monday and that a little more than a third of those calls were from ticket holders who want their money back.

"The majority of our donors and subscribers have been incredibly supportive of us in trying to right the ship," Mechling said.

Last week, the symphony announced that it will file for Chapter 11 reorganization and must cut its payroll by as much as half.

Symphony officials also said they plan to cancel concerts for November and December and made no guarantees that the rest of its 2009-10 season would go on.

All but six of the symphony's 22 administrative staff members have been laid off in recent weeks.

Peter Shaindlin, the symphony chairman, said the official bankruptcy filing may come later this week after a meeting with the symphony's bankruptcy attorneys, Jerrold Guben and Tina Coleman, and a regularly scheduled board meeting on Thursday.

Shaindlin said cutting the payroll by half is just one of several options that's being discussed in wake of the symphony's severe financial crisis.

In addition to debts of about $1 million, the symphony's bank accounts were down to about $15,000, which is only a fraction of the weekly payroll of about $150,000.

"This (bankruptcy filing) may be an unpopular decision but it's a responsible one," Shaindlin said.

The union representing the orchestra's 84 full-time and part-time workers said cutting the symphony's musical staff by half won't work.

The smaller symphony, such as those used for Symphony Pops concerts, don't generate enough revenue and their production costs tend to be high, said David Farmer, attorney for the Musicians Association of Hawaii.

"It's an unsustainable business model," Farmer said.

City officials, meanwhile, are looking at acts to replace the symphony at the Neal Blaisdell Concert Hall.

Sidney Quintal, director of the city Department of Enterprise Service, said city officials are talking to performers to take over the symphony's March through May dates.

He said the canceled November and December dates will be harder to fill.

Quintal said the symphony is current on its rent through January but said the unpaid rent for the March through May period is about $24,000.

"What we were hoping for is half a season," he said. "But now that they do not have operating capital, we have to move ahead."