In Monday’s (7/12) Honolulu Advertiser, Michael Tsai reports, “Contract negotiations between the Honolulu Symphony and its musicians have hit an impasse after the musicians union rejected last week what symphony officials called their ‘best and final’ offer. The Honolulu Symphony Society has proposed a radical reduction in the overall budget—including cuts in the number of concerts each year—to help the financially beleaguered symphony emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The society has until Oct. 15 to submit a reorganization plan to U.S. Bankruptcy Court. According to a statement released yesterday by society Chairwoman Kimberly Miyazawa Frank, the society proposed cutting the symphony’s budget from $8 million in the year prior to the bankruptcy filing to $1.7 million in the first year of reorganization. … The union rejected the offer and proposed instead to reduce the symphony’s performance schedule to 28 weeks from 29 weeks, which union officials said would result in savings of up to $100,000. The symphony society rejected that proposal. … The 110-year-old symphony filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in December and canceled the remainder of its 2009-10 season.”
Posted July 12, 2010
