Honolulu Symphony files for bankruptcy protection

On Friday, Dec. 18, the 109-year-old Honolulu Symphony filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal court in Honolulu. Details of how much the symphony owes and who its creditors were not immediately available, but the filing indicated its largest creditors are owed about $2.4 million while the nonprofit organization has assets of between $100,000 and $500,000. According to the filing, the symphony has until Jan. 4 to submit the financial data.

The symphony had been in financial trouble for several years, and the Honolulu Symphony Society announced in November that it was canceling its 2009 concert schedule, leaving its 64 musicians without jobs.

"We cannot spend money we don't have," Executive Director Majken Mechling said in a news release announcing the cancellation and bankruptcy.

In the court documents, Peter Shaindlin, chairman of the symphony's board of directors, said ticket sales account for only 30 percent of the budget and that without a major increase in donations and funding, the symphony cannot pay its musicians and other employees. Shaindlin said the symphony hopes to reorganize its fundraising activities and finances before it reinstitutes its musical programs.

In a news release last month, the symphony society said it was also meeting with the musicians union to discuss labor cuts and options to resume the symphony, possibly with a smaller orchestra.