The chairman of the Honolulu Symphony abruptly called off a meeting yesterday with city officials to discuss the financially strapped symphony's plans for the remainder of its current season.

The symphony, the oldest American orchestra west of the Rocky Mountains, has struggled financially for the past several years and people familiar with the organization said it could file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization this week.

The meeting between symphony Chairman Peter Shaindlin and Sidney Quintal, director of the city Department of Enterprise Services, was supposed to take place yesterday afternoon.

The meeting cancellation left the city with little assurances that the symphony will complete the remainder of its 2009-2010 season.

"It's frustrating and disappointing," Quintal said.

The symphony leases the Neal Blaisdell Concert Hall for its concerts for about $165,000 a year.

Although the symphony is current on its rent through January, cancellations on concerts in April and May could force the city to find replacement events to make up for the revenue loss.

Shaindlin could not be reached for comment but left a voice mail with The Advertiser yesterday morning that referred to reports of an imminent bankruptcy as "rumors."

On Friday, the symphony's board of directors held a special meeting in which they discussed a potential bankruptcy filing and other options, people familiar with the meeting said.

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

According to city officials, the symphony's concert attendance ranges between 1,200 and 1,700 people but only 600 to 800 of them are paying members. The rest receive free tickets from the symphony, the city said.

Reach Rick Daysog at rdaysog@honoluluadvertiser.com.