People who bought tickets to hear Orchestra London will find locked doors and no refunds as its hopes for a taxpayer-funded bailout appear to fade, The Free Press has learned.

With a six-figure deficit pushing the non-profit symphony to the brink, employees are going unpaid, concerts have been cancelled and there are indications city council may not be willing to throw a financial lifeline.

Thursday, the orchestra locked its Wellington St. office, as noted in an e-mail to staff, a copy of which was obtained by The Free Press.

“Effective 12:30 (Thursday) the office has shut down for the

holiday season,” wrote Melissa Derus, one of its managers. “For security and legal reasons, any visits to the office will be supervised by the executive director (Joe Swan).”

The office shutdown comes one day after the financial crisis forced Swan to cancel two Elvis-themed Christmas concerts at Centennial Hall this weekend. Sources say dozens of 2015 concerts have been cancelled, too, though Swan has publicly denied that.

The cancellations add an ugly dimension to the third, and perhaps most serious, financial crisis in the orchestra’s modern history.

An estimated 1,000 tickets were sold for this weekend’s two Elvis shows. But with the orchestra unable to even pay its employees this week as scheduled, refunds are simply not happening.

“We are mapping a plan now to honour our commitments,” Swan wrote in a text message toThe Free Press. “We are . . . seeking community and government support . . . so we can honour the subscription and ticket-buyer purchases. Refunds are not currently available.”

Jim Cuddy, of Blue Rodeo, was scheduled to play two shows with the orchestra in April. His agent, Kay White, was told Thursday the shows may be cancelled.

With tickets already sold and refunds unavailable, White said it suggests future revenue — as in ticket money from scheduled shows — was being used to pay past or present expenses.

“That’s completely unacceptable,” she said.

Joe O’Neill, chair of the orchestra’s board, hasn’t ruled out declaring bankruptcy amid the massive budget deficit.

A major hope is a taxpayer-funded bailout from city council, which already gives the orchestra a $500,000 annual subsidy. Swan is expected to address politicians at a public meeting next week.

But the bailout appears unlikely, with one councillor saying Thursday, “I don’t see it (happening).” Another questioned why the financial woes weren’t made public months ago, while Swan was running for mayor.

Swan has said he secured a $1-million donation in 2012, which was to be given in three portions. The first chunk of $350,000 arrived in June 2013, but the next portion didn’t arrive.

It was only two weeks ago, he says, that the orchestra realized the donor was diverting the remaining $650,000 to efforts to build a new concert hall.

Swan says he’ll launch a “save the symphony” campaign following his meeting with city politicians next week.

“(We will) take steps to structure the organization to stay in business,” he wrote via text. “With community support we can pull through this current situation.”

Sarah Baldwin planned to surprise her boyfriend with tickets to this weekend’s performance. She learned it had been cancelled via e-mail from the orchestra.

“Now to find out I shelled out almost $150 and might not be refunded really puts a damper on my Christmas,” she said.