Students at the American Boychoir School will finish the academic year earlier than usual due to the school’s precarious financial situation, according to a letter that went out to supporters on Monday. The school filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last Friday.

A letter from Board of Trustees chairman Rob D’Avanzo announcing the decision stated that $350,000 was needed in order for the school to complete the academic year. Since then, gifts and pledges totaling $82,400 С 24 percent of the goal С have been received. The second letter from Mr. D’Avanzo urged those who have made pledges to “Й be sure that your funds follow quickly: get that check in the mail or simply go to our secure website to make your donation now.”

For those who have supported previous emergency fundraising efforts, “…this time is different,” he wrote. “We have no safety net. Without an immediate infusion of cash, we will be forced to close our doors quickly.” The letter goes on to say that “funding permitting,” the school will end its academic year the weekend of May 16-17. The school usually holds a much-anticipated graduation the second weekend in June.

Staff members of the organization could not be reached for comment.

The renowned Boychoir School was founded in 1937 in Columbus, Ohio and has been located in Princeton since 1950. Boys in grades four to eight are selected from across the country to train for the concert boys’ choir, considered among the nation’s finest. The choir has performed with such ensembles as The New York Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra, and The Boston Symphony, under the batons of such conductors as James Levine, Charles Dutoit, and Alan Gilbert.

A 2014 film titled Boychoir starring Dustin Hoffman, Kathy Bates, Josh Lucas, and Debra Winger, based on the school, failed to gain national distribution after debuting at the Toronto International Film Festival last September. The film featured performances by the choristers and appearances by staff members.

The choir is currently on tour in Texas. A quote from Mr. D’Avanzo’s letter demonstrates the gravity of the financial situation: “On Saturday, flight delays into Dallas caused an unexpected hotel stay, with our weary travelers arriving in Abilene after midnight,” he wrote. “Our hosts made arrangements and paid for the hotel. Thanks to their generous spirit, we avoided what could have been a damaging hit to our finances, and our boys performed for this appreciative audience at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church.”

The Boychoir sold Albemarle, its longtime Princeton location, the former estate of pharmaceutical magnate Gerard Lambert, for $6 million in January of 2013. The school moved to the Princeton Center for Arts and Education, on the campus of the former St. Joseph’s Seminary on Mapleton Road in Plainsboro, where it became lead tenant on the multi-school campus it originally shared with the Wilberforce School and the French American School of Princeton. Wilberforce moved to West Windsor in September, 2014.