In its continuing effort to re-focus its fundraising activities, the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra's board of directors has appointed Christopher Minnes to the newly created position of director of development.

Minnes will be responsible for expanding fundraising activities, developing corporate relationships and recruiting individual donors.

The move is the latest in a series of changes initiated by interim president Gideon Toeplitz and the orchestra's reshuffled board intended to address the organization's long-term funding problems.

Toeplitz, who assumed his temporary position in June, was traveling on the Mainland yesterday and was unavailable for comment. He had previously told The Advertiser that he intends to bring the Symphony closer to the community by making education and outreach a higher priority.

As part of that effort, Toeplitz and maestra JoAnn Falletta have been conducting town meeting-style discussions after concerts this season to elicit feedback from audiences.

"By increasing our fundraising activities, we will be able to expand the reach of our education program," Toeplitz said in a news release issued yesterday. "Christopher Minnes will lead the development team towards this goal."

According to the release, Minnes has raised more than $50 million for nonprofit organizations over a 20-year-career, with stints at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Long Beach Symphony and the Los Angeles-based environmental group TreePeople.