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On June 13, 2006, the Honolulu Symphony Society held its Annual Meeting at the Wailae Country Club. Several Musicians attended, including Orchestra Committee Chair Ken Hafner, who gave this report.
By Ken Hafner, Orchestra Committee Chair
Hi everyone and thank you for showing your support for the Honolulu Symphony by being here this afternoon.
At this point in time the Symphony is at a defining moment. We now have a new Chairman of the Board, a new Executive Director and a $4 million lead endowment gift from the State Legislature. The Symphony is poised to move forward and it must seize this moment to do so.
In the past the Symphony turned to cuts in order to try to solve its problems. Over the past few years, important programs that served the community have been cut, including free community concerts, Neighbor Island tours, the Ohana and Starlight series, and education programs. Then, two years ago the musicians agreed to 20% cuts as a last-ditch effort to help save the institution. Now we’ve reached the end of that two years and it has become clear to everyone that the cuts are no longer sustainable. Musicians’ salaries need to be restored along with those community outreach services the salaries paid for. Restoration of the cuts will demonstrate to the community that the Symphony has turned the corner and has renewed its commitment to community service and artistic quality.
It is appropriate that we talk about community service today as we also honor our good friend and supporter, Ah Quon McElrath. A.Q. has always been a supporter of the Honolulu Symphony, a season ticket subscriber and regular concert attendee. This year, when she heard the Symphony was experiencing financial woes, she came forward on her own and said, “It’s time for the community to step forward and do its part.” Systematically she went first to President Michael Largarticha at the Musicians' Union, then she went to the Symphony Board and staff, and then she went to the State Legislature and lobbied and cajoled and harangued everyone she could to enlist their aid in securing a meaningful allocation into the Symphony endowment. And because of her persistence, the Symphony is now poised to move forward into the future. That $4 million, when matched through private sources, will more than double the Symphony endowment, provide funding to expand our services throughout the Islands and help to stabilize the Symphony’s finances. Ah Quon inspired us, our union and other unions to get involved in this process. Musicians helped to lobby directly and also engaged our friends and supporters in the community - another example of Musicians helping to support the Symphony.
It’s people in the community like Ah Quon who keep our hopes alive and who have helped us get through these last two years. Ah Quon - we are indebted to you for your efforts and help and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. And finally, thank you all for your continued support.
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