The Santa Barbara Symphony announced Monday its plan to cancel this year’s Fourth of July free pops concert.

The event has been held annually at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Sunken Gardens as a keystone of Santa Barbara’s Independence Day celebrations.

The symphony said that a major decrease in outside funding for the event this year made it necessary for the nonprofit organization to choose between programs that will best serve the needs of the community.

The Patriotic Concert, which the symphony has presented for free to the community for the past 20 years, is an expensive undertaking. By removing the event from the 2010-11 budget, the symphony will cut its costs by more than $72,000 while maintaining its commitment to its seven-concert Subscription Series and its award-winning music education programs.

Since its inception in 1991, the July 4 concert has been partially supported by the city of Santa Barbara, but with the city’s continuing and substantial budget cuts, public funding for the concert has been reduced, leaving the symphony responsible for raising nearly $60,000.

“This is very disappointing for all involved,” said Nir Kabaretti, the symphony’s music and artistic director, “and it saddens all of us because we know how much this concert is loved by our community. It is music that brings people together, no matter our differences, and we would prefer to be able to play. We hope the community understands that this was a heart-wrenching decision we had to make.”

Symphony Executive Director John Robinson said, “I think that many people assume that the city has always paid for the cost of this concert. The reality is that the symphony has always shouldered the lion’s share of the expenses for this musical gift to the community.

“In this economic climate, the city’s support is down, and the sponsorships that we have traditionally secured from the local business community have slackened. We are making the fiscally responsible and proactive decision that will allow the symphony to remain strong. Our desire is that we will be in a position to reinstate the July 4 concert in 2011.”

The Santa Barbara Symphony’s board of directors has left open the possibility of reinstating the event if an “angel” were to step forward with a gift of $50,000 or more by the cutoff deadline of this Friday, May 28. Anyone who is interested in making such a donation is asked to call Robinson at 805.898.9826.

— Marjorie Wass is a publicist.