It’s “95%” Certain That Musicians Will Put On Summer Pops Concerts

Lee Ellen Hveem, the Fort Wayne, Ind., Philharmonic official hired by San Diego Symphony musicians to promote the Summer Pops, said Friday that she expects to announce early next week that the summer concert series at Mission Bay will take place.

“We’ve got most everything lined up,” Hveem said from her office at the musicians’ union headquarters. “I think we can pull this thing together. I don’t want to say yes that it’s definite, but there’s a 95% chance that it’s a go.”

Hveem said the season would be 9 weeks, instead of the usual 12, and would start July 8.

Up to Musicians

In the past, the outdoor Pops concerts at Hospitality Point have started in June, sponsored by the San Diego Symphony Assn. But that group--the management wing of the orchestra--announced several weeks ago that it could not sponsor the Pops. That left it up to symphony musicians, who hired Debra McKeon, a former official with the New York Philharmonic, based in Michigan. McKeon then hired Hveem to be her full-time liaison in San Diego.

“We have a couple of kinks to work out,” Hveem said, “and I hesitate to say what they are. They’re the only things holding things up. Part of it has to do with so many factions pulling together at such a late date. But, we’re getting there, and the city Park and Recreation Department (which leases the site to the symphony association) has been extremely cooperative.”

Hveem and McKeon have said that $1.5 million is needed to fund an entire Pops season. But Hveem said Friday that enough “start-up money” has been raised, with the balance of funds expected from ticket sales.

“We’ve put together a budget that we think is feasible,” she said. “We’re going to try and put on as good a Pops as the city has ever had. I think we have the numbers (funding) to support that.”

She said vendors--everyone from telephone installation experts to stage manufacturers--have been “extremely cooperative and lenient,” even to the point of lending their services on a “pay-as-you-go” basis.

“In the last couple of weeks, we’ve been able to work out, or at least identify, all of the problems, and we’re confident of getting this going,” she said. “I think finally we’ll have good news for a change.”