Cal Phil Financial Woes Continue

California Philharmonic officials say they hope an end-of-year appeal will help bring the orchestra's recent financial woes to an end.

A union representing the orchestra's musicians filed a complaint with the Naitonal Labor Relations Board in October, claiming Cal Phil hasn't paid them for concerts that took place this summer. The Los Angeles Times reported the orchestra also failed to pay for the use of the Los Angeles Arboretum and Botanic Gardens grounds for concerts on Aug. 6 and 20, 2011.

The orchestra blamed their financial woes in part on expenses related to moving their summer concert venue from the Arboretum to Santa Anita Park in June.

Cal Phil spokeswoman Lauren Lewis says the orchestra has set up a payment plan with the Professional Musicians Local 47 to take care of any back payments owed to musicians. It is unclear whether any payments have been made to the Arboretum; Arboretum officials could not be reached for comment.

"Everything is progressing smoothly," Lewis said. "Cal Phil is also sending out an end of year appeal with some positive news that, along with the help of our community,  will help clear up issues as we move forward with its exciting 2013 summer season."

Meanwhile, California Philharmonic Orchestra Committee Chair Francisco Castillo released the following statement on behalf of the orchestra's musicians:

We, the musicians of the California Philharmonic support our orchestra.

It is very important to all of us, the community and the Los Angeles music family to see that the California Philharmonic succeeds and to be able to return to be a stellar organization in Southern California for many years to come.

We are hoping that the economy turns around and that the Cal Phil will continue to do everything possible to follow through with their commitment to the musicians, the community and all our supporters...We feel positive that this is just a temporary setback.

We feel, after seeing the tremendous support from the community that attended our concerts at the Santa Anita Race Track and at Disney Hall this last Summer, that the future is going to be good.

We just have to give it a chance to grow and we stand behind our orchestra.