SAN DIEGO IS RALLYING TO SAVE SYMPHONY

The debt-burdened San Diego Symphony’s announcement Thursday that it will cease operations if it fails to raise $1 million by March 10 drew an immediate, if not overwhelming, response.

Within six hours of the announcement, people off the street brought in $3,020 in cash, a symphony spokeswoman said. Friday morning, a $20,000 check was promised by a long-time orchestra supporter.

The symphony’s debt is expected to grow to $2 million by the end of its season in September. If the symphony raises $1.5 million by March 10, a patron has promised to kick in $500,000. So far, the board of directors has generated $500,000 in “ironclad pledges.”

The orchestra members, who have agreed to play this week’s and next week’s concerts without pay, met Thursday night to organize committees to deal with problems that may arise for individual players. “The musicians were quite united,” said one player who requested anonymity. “There was some anger that if management had known of this problem, they should have let us know. One musician just put a house into escrow.”

A telemarketing team has mobilized at the symphony offices and will be soliciting donations to help meet the current fund-raising goal. Five callers raised about $1,000 in pledges in three hours. Most of the pledges were in $20 increments.

Several businesses and organizations offered the ailing symphony assistance. Two restaurants immediately offered to donate the proceeds from special events or to contribute services. A professional singles organization scheduled a Wednesday open-house benefit at Symphony Hall, and a radiothon was slated for Sunday afternoon on classical music station KFSD.