EVERETT, Wash. -- It's not quite a swan song, but ending their season four concerts early was not the way the Everett Symphony wanted to go.
"It's just heartbreaking," said patron John Bowling, who said he's attended their concerts for 30 years. "It takes a great deal of dedication to be a musician to play this type of music, and... it's more than just a hobby."
A half-million dollar budget crisis forced the orchestra to cut its season short. With help from its endowment, the symphony said it will be able to recoup the deficit, but in the meantime, it cannot afford to hold any more concerts.
"As a conductor you remember the people you played for and the people you performed with," Dr. Paul-Elliott Cobbs told symphony-goers during a pre-concert talk. Cobbs has been the maestro in Everett for 26 years.
For 71 years, the Everett Symphony has performed for Snohomish County audiences and toured internationally, including in Vienna, Austria. Longtime patrons say they cannot remember any season cut short like this.
But on Friday night, the orchestra went out with a bang, as hundreds bought tickets for a higher-than-normal turnout.
"Yeah, I just kind of made and impromptu decision to get here," said Ray Handy, who drove from Granite Falls to attend the concert. "It's important to support the arts in your neighborhood."
"I'm excited and optimistic because we're getting so much support," said Myrna Overstreet, Everett Symphony board president.
Overstreet said the board hopes to hold their next concert in October, but will have to figure out their budget issues before then. She said the board will meet in January and restructure their concert schedule, basing the number of performances and their venues solely on what they can afford to do.
Patrons say they're wishing for the best.
"What I'm hoping is we'll be able to gather ourselves together and mount a season next year," said Bowling.
The 70-musician symphony normally gets a small stipend for each performance. On Friday, they were all volunteering their time, playing pieces from Aaron Copland and Howard Hanson.
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