The Honolulu Symphony may file for bankruptcy protection as early as tomorrow, according to people familiar with the situation.

The symphony, the oldest American orchestra west of the Rocky Mountains, has struggled in recent years to pay its musicians. Two months ago it received a $1.8 million cash infusion to cover operating expenses for the upcoming season.

A Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization would cast a further pall over the symphony's four-week-old 2009-2010 season and would come at a time when performing arts organizations nationwide have been hard hit by the global economic crisis.

Peter Shaindlin, the symphony's chairman, did not return several calls to his office. Majken Mechling, who was named as the symphony's executive director in September, also did not return calls from The Advertiser.

On Friday, the symphony's board of directors held a special meeting to discuss the organization's continued financial problems and discussed a potential bankruptcy filing and other options, people familiar with the meeting said.

They said the symphony's recent decision to postpone two concerts scheduled for this weekend at the Blaisdell Concert Hall was also prompted by mounting financial problems.

City officials say the symphony is current on rent payments through January 2010 for its use of the Blaisdell Concert Hall but owes about $10,000 in other miscellaneous charges.

Founded in 1900, the Honolulu Symphony is one of the largest performing arts organizations in Hawaii. Promotional material on its Web site boasts that it has endured "two World Wars, the Great Depression, financial crises, and changing musical and cultural fashions."

But the past several years have been among the organization's toughest.

The symphony's 84 full-time and part-time musicians went several months this year without receiving their regular paychecks. They later agreed to a 15 percent pay cut in September for the current season.

The symphony at one point experienced a turnover of more than a quarter of its musicians as a result of the back pay issue, according to Local 677 of the American Federation of Musicians, which represents orchestra members.

The 2009-2010 season was saved after the Honolulu Symphony Foundation agreed to provide $1.8 million to cover the symphony's operating expenses.