“The show will go on,” writes Rosemarie Bernardo in Wednesday’s (4/13) Star-Advertiser (Honolulu, Hawaii). “Yesterday the Symphony Exploratory Committee announced a three-year agreement was reached with musicians of the former Honolulu Symphony Orchestra. Committee members said under the new contract, approved Monday, 64 full-time musicians will get paid $30,000 for 30 weeks in each of the next two years. Their salary will increase to $31,250 in the third year. … Committee members have been meeting for months to find ways to revive the symphony, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2009. … Committee members hope musicians will be able to return to performing sometime in the fall. … The symphony’s overall budget is almost $6 million a year. Committee member Vicky Cayetano said it intends to cut costs by being efficient with staffing. The committee will embark on fundraising from individuals, businesses and organizations. Last month the committee acquired the orchestra’s assets with a $210,000 bid at an auction. Assets include about 70 musical instruments, a music library of more than 2,700 classical and local orchestral works, and office equipment.”
Posted April 14, 2011
