Concert back on in Pasadena

Although the fundraising drive to save the remaining concerts in the Pasadena Symphony and Pasadena Pops’ recession-threatened 2008-09 season barely has begun, one of the jeopardized dates, the Jan. 10 symphony performance at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, has been rescued and reprogrammed to include Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

Fundraising is just a shade above $100,000 at this point, plus an additional $100,000 in pledges, out of the $3 million to $4 million needed to play the scheduled season, apart from the one classical concert and the three pops holiday shows that already have succumbed, said Jean Horton, the orchestras’ interim executive director.

Officials of the Orchestras of Pasadena (as the combined symphony and pops are known) say the emergency was brought on by a drop in donations and the endowment’s decline after the market meltdown. The plan now is to keep the season afloat on a pay-as-you-go basis through summer.

Horton said last week that the orchestras have established a $500,000 line of bank credit that can be used to pay some concert expenses.