One of the oldest symphony houses declares bankruptcy

Written by Michael Rivezzo


The Honolulu Symphony, one of the oldest symphony houses still left, has decided to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Last week the symphony stated that it did't have the money to supplement their payroll. The house decided it will cancel the rest of their shows for this year, they do not want to spend money they don't have said Majken Mechling, the executive director of the symphony society. They stated that ticket sales were the same as usual but donations, which covers 70 percent of costs, were down exponentially.

The symphony had trouble signs over the past years of the upcoming bankruptcy. Last year they held checks for sometimes up to three months. Musicians, conductors and staff tried to help carry the load by accepting a 15-20 percent payroll cut for this year. They just did not have the money to support a 64-piece orchestra. They go into bankruptcy with a 1 million dollars in debt. They have plan to re-organize themselves and possibly cut the orchestra's size to be easier to sustain a future growth.

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