Broadway star Lea Salonga will perform with the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra in Honolulu this month, with a local mortgage company footing part of the bill — good news for Hawaiʻi concertgoers and the islands' Filipino community.

• Salonga, known for Miss Saigon and the first Filipina with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, plays the Neal Blaisdell Center on October 17 and 18.
• The shows land during Filipino American Heritage Month, and the orchestra sought out prominent Filipino-owned local businesses as backers.
• House of Finance, a family-owned Hawaiʻi home-loan company in business 31 years, signed on as sponsor.
• Corporate money is what keeps ticket prices down — putting a full symphony on stage is expensive, and sponsors also bring in audiences who would not otherwise hear about the concerts.
• Sponsors open their own customer and patron networks to the orchestra, widening who shows up.

Outlook: Tickets are on sale through the orchestra for the two October dates, and the partnership points to more locally funded, culturally themed programming.