Blaisdell Concert Hall - Honolulu 10-Feb-2010

The Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, formerly known as Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, was founded in 1900. It is the second oldest orchestra in the USA west of the Rocky Mountains. The orchestra now plays at

Neal S. Blaisdell Concert Hall The Neal S. Blaisdell Center is a community center near downtown Honolulu, Hawaii. The complex has a multi-purpose arena, concert hall, exhibition hall, galleria, meeting rooms, Waikiki Shell and others. Constructed in 1964 on the historic Wa ...

and the Hawaii Theatre Center in Honolulu. The orchestra was originally housed in a clubhouse on the slopes of Punchbowl. From 1996 to 2004, the orchestra was under the direction of conductor Samuel Wong. In August 2007, Andreas Delfs, current

music director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the d ...

of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, officially became

principal conductor Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or Choir, choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary ...

of the orchestra. He led seven concerts per season in the orchestra's Halekulani Masterworks series. From 2010 to present, JoAnn Falletta has served as the artistic advisor of the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra.

Ignace Jang Ignace Jang (born 1969) is a South Korean and French violinist and is a grand and jury prize recipient. He is concertmaster of the Hawaii Symphony and teaches at the University of Hawaii in Manoa. Background Jang was born to South Korean parent ...

is concertmaster. Previous music directors included Fritz Hart (1937–49),

George Barati George Barati (born György Braunstein) (April 3, 1913, Győr, Hungary - June 22, 1996, San Jose, California) was a Hungarian-American cellist, composer, and conductor. Barati studied under Zoltán Kodály and Leo Weiner while a student at the L ...

(1950-1967),

Robert La Marchina The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, Donald Johanos (1979–94) and

JoAnn Falletta JoAnn Falletta (born February 27, 1954 in Queens, New York) is an American conductor. Biography Falletta was raised in the borough of Queens in an Italian-American household. She was educated at the Mannes College of Music and The Juilliard Sch ...

(artistic advisor). In 2014, the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra debuted its popular series musicthatPOPS, featuring Broadway music, Disney in Concert, Cirque de la Symphonie and Zelda in Concert, among others.

History

The symphony has undergone a series of transformations over the course of its first century. It has endured two World Wars, the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, financial crises, and changing musical and cultural fashions. On October 30, 2009, the Honolulu Symphony Society's board of directors voted to file for Chapter 11 protection. On November 6, 2009, the symphony announced the cancellation of concerts for the remainder of the 2009–2010 season. The organization said it was $1 million in debt and did not have enough money to support operations into November and beyond. In 2010, facing a multimillion-dollar deficit, the symphony disbanded under Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, but was revived the next year under the new name "Hawaii Symphony Orchestra" by a group of Honolulu businessmen.

was appointed artistic director, and Steven Monder, former director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was appointed president. In May 2010, the symphony's leaders said their goal was to decrease annual expenses to $4 million, from $8 million previously. The symphony's 40-performance calendar would also be cut in half, with performances at smaller venues and different ticket prices, aiming to fill all seats with paying customers. The symphony was given an October 15 deadline to file its Chapter 11 plan of reorganization. In December 2010 it was announced that the symphony would be liquidated under Chapter 7 and end operations after 110 years. In April 2011, a group of Hawaii businesspeople called the Symphony Exploratory Committee announced efforts to revive the symphony. The committee bought out the symphony's assets, and negotiated a new three-year contract with the musicians, planning to open a new season in fall of 2011.Symphony revived, new season planned for fall
, KHON-2, May 24, 2011

References

External links

Symphony website

Archive of Hawaii Romance Festival 2008
{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1900 Culture of Honolulu Wikipedia requested audio of orchestras Native Hawaiian musicians Musical groups from Hawaii American orchestras 1900 establishments in Hawaii Performing arts in Hawaii Orchestras based in Hawaii Video game musicians Film scores