Symphony Ticket Buyers Want Out : Half of Winter Season Subscribers Demand Refunds Totaling $350,000

Dealing the beleaguered San Diego Symphony another financial blow, half the subscribers to the canceled winter concert season have demanded ticket refunds totaling $350,000, a symphony official revealed Monday,

A total of $774,075 in concert season tickets had been sold, so the cancellations represent “about half” of the 8,946 subscriptions sold earlier this year, symphony spokeswoman Nancy Hafner said.

Although symphony officials in October said that there were insufficient funds to refund all season tickets immediately, there is enough money in the bank to honor refunds within a promised 60-day period, Hafner said.

In a related financial matter, the National Endowment for the Arts has delayed payment of a $156,100 grant to the symphony, The Times learned Monday.

“We’re taking a wait-and-see attitude” on the grant, said Ed Birdwell, director of the endowment’s music program. The federal grant was approved for the symphony this summer “to support the 1986-1987 subscription series,” an endowment official said.

“Once they resolve the situation, then (we’ll) make a decision on the grant,” endowment spokeswoman Kathy Christie said, referring to the labor dispute with the musicians.

The musicians’ contract expired Aug. 31. Stalemated negotiations with symphony management resulted in cancellation of the winter concert season, which was to have begun Oct. 23.

Symphony President Herbert J. Solomon was out of town and could not be reached for comment Monday. Executive Director Wesley O. Brustad also could not be reached Monday.

Hafner was “not surprised” that half of the subscribers requested refunds when the season was canceled.

“We also received an overwhelming response (along with the refund requests), notes saying ‘We’ll be back with you when you reschedule the season, best of luck,’ and stuff like that. A lot of people wanted to use the money for Christmas,” she said.

The symphony has reached the limit on a $500,000 line of credit extended by a consortium of local banks, Hafner confirmed. Despite that, she said, the symphony is meeting all of its payments to creditors.

On Wednesday, musicians and symphony representatives will hold their first contract talks in more than a month. The meeting was called by state mediator David Hart, who said he has been in contact with representatives of both sides.

“With the cancellation of the season, I don’t find anything encouraging,” Hart said. “We’re going to start from scratch and see where it goes.”

Brustad has said that canceling the winter season may have removed the impediments to an agreement. The two sides were $500,000 apart on wages and disagreed over several non-wage issues at the last meeting Oct. 31. According to Brustad, the talks are now “a whole new game.”

The National Endowment’s grant suspension means that all state, local and federal government funding of symphony operations has been suspended or canceled. Last month, the California Arts Council canceled half of a $50,000 grant and suspended the remainder subject to an agreement with the musicians by Dec. 31.

COMBO, which administers city and county government funding of the arts, also suspended its funding last month, for 60 days.

The City of San Diego is still making payments on its $1.5-million grant for Symphony Hall. Hafner said that no pledges for the $6.5-million hall acquisition and renovation project have been canceled or suspended.

Although the symphony has not paid its musicians since Sept. 15, the musicians have gained emotional support and the possibility of financial support from two recently organized groups. The San Diego Philharmonic, consisting of some well-connected symphony patrons, was formed two weeks ago to sponsor the musicians in a series of concerts they are playing in the absence of a symphony season.

The grass-roots Citizens Support Group for Symphonic Music in San Diego was formed last week by music lovers to provide “an organized voice” for music audiences concerned about the deadlocked labor talks. More than 400 people have asked the group for information, a spokeswoman said.