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Democratic National Convention
No Pay for Honolulu Symphony Musicians Print E-mail
Written by Tina Chau - tchau@kgmb9.com   
December 17, 2007 03:09 AM

 
After months of playing in other venues, it was home sweet home for the Honolulu Symphony Sunday. The orchestra performed masterpieces by Beethoven and Brahms led by world renowned conductor Andreas Delfs.

"He is just wonderful," gushed Edith Haradam who came to listen with her mother.

It has been a trying few days for Delfs, the musicians and symphony staffers. Each was told last week not to expect a paycheck Friday, because the symphony didn't have the $260,000 to meet payroll. And there won't be a check next pay period either. Symphony officials say part of the problem was being forced to play elsewhere while the Lion King musical was in town. Some of the venues were smaller than the 2,100 seat Blaisdell Concert Hall and ticket sales were down.

"{Tickets} slowed down a little because people weren't seeing us outside Blaisdell," said Tom Gulick, Executive Director for the Honolulu Symphony. "And by the time they got used to seeing us at one venue, we were at another venue."

Bassoonist Paul Barrett has been with the Honolulu Symphony for 30 years and represents the musicians. This financial crunch is a double punch for him because his wife plays in the orchestra too. But he's seen the symphony go through tough times and says the musicians are committed to sticking this one out which basically means coming to work for free.

"We believe they have a plan and we believe they trust us and we trust them," said Barrett, "that we're not being blamed this time which is wonderful."

"This is a time where we remember that we are in the entertainment industry," said Delfs, "we are in show business so to speak and we have a certain resilience against this thing."

So, for now, the show will go on, even if the paychecks don't.

The Honolulu Symphony depends on donations. Click here to find out how you can help.


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Last Updated ( December 18, 2007 10:43 PM )
 
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