Clock Is Running Out on Symphony Fund Drive

As the debt-ridden San Diego Symphony entered what may be its last weekend of existence, a crash fund-raising program moved the orchestra to within at least $229,000 of its $2-million goal, which must be met by Monday if the orchestra is to avoid a self-imposed bankruptcy.

Calls continued to pour in Friday at the symphony office from those eager to donate to the 76-year-old orchestra, while other symphony supporters beat a steady path to the office door, hand-carrying their checks and cash. One elderly woman, who had spent the week canvassing her neighborhood, brought in a check for $1,000.

San Diego Chamber of Commerce vice president Max Schetter said more than 30 businesses had responded with $130,000, about $30,000 of which has already been turned over to the symphony. Following a chamber-sponsored breakfast Wednesday, checks were coming “hourly” into the chamber’s offices as the business community responded to the orchestra’s pleas for help. What has been collected since mid-week will be turned over to the symphony Sunday night. More than half of the symphony’s campaign total has come from a $250,000 pledge by philanthropist Muriel Gluck of Beverly Hills and about a dozen contributions ranging from $5,000 to $60,000. The remainder have been gifts from thousands of symphony supporters whose contributions ranged from a few cents to several thousand dollars.

At a fund-raising lunch Friday at the Westgate Hotel, music director David Atherton and development director Ken Overstreet told a group of potential donors that the problems that had brought on the orchestra’s $2 million debt are behind them and San Diegans could expect the symphony to act with fiscal responsibility.

No immediate funds were generated at the meeting, although National University donated $750 scholarships to each of the 130 symphony staff and orchestra members to cover the tuition for one course plus part of a second course, a university official said.

Atherton continued to make a whirlwind tour of radio and television “chat shows.” He was a guest on seven radio shows and one television program Friday morning, making a case over the airwaves for supporting the symphony.

The campaign, which ends Monday, is based on a patron’s pledge to kick in $500,000 if the symphony raises $1.5 million in the drive to wipe out the $2-million debt. Symphony officials say tickets remain for tonight’s 8 p.m. and tomorrow’s 2:30 p.m. all-Beethoven concerts. Depending on whether the remaining $229,000 is raised, Sunday’s concert could be a celebration or the orchestra’s wake.