In Friday’s (4/2) Pacific Business News (Honolulu, Hawaii), Nanea Kalani writes, “Three months after filing for bankruptcy protection, the management team behind the Honolulu Symphony Society says it has a plan to emerge as a smarter organization with a reduced budget ‘that Honolulu can afford.’ Symphony management is working on a plan to relaunch the organization with a smaller season, or fewer concerts, that ‘meets the needs of the community’ by performing more community outreach and educational programs, while maintaining its core of 63 musicians. ‘There is definitely a demand for live symphonic music here,’ said Kimberly Miyazawa Frank, chairwoman of the Symphony Society’s board of directors. ‘But we’re looking at how we can balance that demand with the financial reality of putting on music of that caliber.’ ” After cancelling its 2009-10 season in October, the symphony filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Dec. 18, 2009, saying it was $1 million in debt and lacked funds to keep operations going. “The Symphony Society’s board of directors and the Honolulu Symphony Foundation (the separate entity that manages the symphony’s endowment) recently completed a 162-page report in which they present data collected on 100 orchestras across the nation.” Miyazawa Frank states that the organization’s new budget will be between $3 million and $4 million, compared with the $8 million budget it had previously.
Posted April 2, 2010
