ハワイ旅行･ホテル･ショッピング･グルメ･求人

An anonymous donation by a fan will allow the Honolulu Symphony to keep playing. A donation made last week for $1.175 million will allow the symphony to pay staffers and musicians who have received reduced a token paycheck over seven weeks due to higher operating costs and low ticket sales. The symphony was able to pay seven weeks worth of back pay with the donation.

The symphony has been working for weeks to secure financing for operations. Last season was difficult in terms of funding because the symphony was forced out of its usual venue at the Blaisdell Concert Hall by "The Lion King" tour, which ran all the way from September to December. Other concert halls around the city, while smaller, often were more expensive. The regular operating budget of $6 million or $7 million rose to about $8 million.

The symphony had announced that if the group was not able to pay its bills by June, next years season was doubtful. The announcement of the donation could not come at a better time. With most of their bills paid, the symphony can focus on the next big fundraising event, the annual Symphony Ball at the Hawaii Convention Center. Management is confident that the symphony will be back for the 2009 season.