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Symphony’s
finances drastically
out of tune
A $1.4 million debt brings
By Tim Ryan
administrative cutbacks and
a schedule re-evaluation
Star-BulletinCelebrating its centennial anniversary this season has plunged the Honolulu Symphony nearly a million dollars more in debt because of overly optimistic revenue projections, increased concerts and the hiring of high-fee artists.
Combined with a $500,000 debt from the previous four seasons, the symphony now owes $1.4 million, leading to severe administrative cutbacks, a re-evaluation of the concert schedule and new marketing approaches.
"For a variety of reasons, unrealistic cash projections were (entered) in the budget that were too optimistic," said John Graham, the symphony's interim executive director. "Controls that should have been in place and were not, like budgetary policies and procedures ... would have mitigated (this season's deficit)."
The symphony's management team responsible for running the orchestra and keeping track of the budget includes the executive, development, marketing, finance and operations directors.Symphony management had anticipated a $200,000 surplus, not a $900,000 deficit.
Graham emphasized that the symphony's accounting system is "immaculate" with "every nickel accounted for."
Graham is managing the symphony until a new executive director is hired to replace Michael Tiknis, who resigned earlier this year to be closer to ill parents on the mainland. Tiknis has taken a similar position in Michigan.
In a telephone interview, Tiknis said the symphony's budget problems were evident last December to the executive staff. He said the shortfall in attendance and revenues was mostly due to the symphony being moved out of its venue at the Blaisdell Concert Hall by the city for nine weeks last fall to make way for the "Miss Saigon" production.
The symphony's "severely fragmented" season "disrupted the regular flow" of classical concert-goers, Tiknis said. Rather than two classical concerts a month, after the symphony returned to the concert hall, it held as many as four consecutive weeks of weekend performances.
Celebrity artists and more concerts
were added for the symphony's centennial
season before it learned the city had
allocated its Blaisdell venue to theater."People have a saturation point, then they won't go anymore," Tiknis said. The symphony's 100th season was planned before the organization had learned the city was allowing "Miss Saigon" to use the hall. In celebrating its centennial season, the symphony also hired several big-name artists and added more concerts which cost hundreds of thousands of additional dollars than in a usual season, Tiknis and Graham agreed. Costs of artists alone accounted for as much as $250,000, Graham said.
Box office revenues did not match the added costs, Graham said.
The upcoming classical and pops seasons will remain intact, though the Starlight and Ohana series' concerts are being evaluated to determine money makers and money losers. The symphony also will examine which repertories are the most marketable and which do not require a lot of extra musicians, Graham said.
The costliest symphony events traditionally are Starlight Series productions requiring special lighting and sound, and high artist fees.
The symphony's ongoing salary freeze will continue, and a hiring freeze has been initiated.
The symphony wants to attract more classical concert subscribers, who make up the core of donors, Graham said. The organization will announce a new subscription series in July: Masterworks Gold and Masterworks Diamond. The Gold will include tickets to the Pinchas Zukerman performance; the Diamond to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. These performances are now stand-alone specials.
The 1,500 classical subscribers make up just 36 percent of ticket buyers, spending about $465,000 this year. Graham wants to increase the amount of classical subscribers to at least 50 percent.
