March 4, 2010

The Architectural Foundation of Cincinnati will present its prestigious Alice and Harris Weston Apple awards at a gala event on Thursday, June 10, 2010, in the Hall of Mirrors of the Hilton Netherland Plaza. This year’s recipients are The Corbett Foundation, Thomas Klinedinst, Jr., Norma Petersen, and Maestro Erich Kunzel (posthumous).

The Architectural Foundation of Cincinnati gives the Apple Award each year to an individual or entity that exemplifies the foundation's mission. Honorees have contributed to the improvement of the built environment of Greater Cincinnati or increased awareness of its significant historic and contemporary buildings, landscapes, and urban places. Honorees have included architects, architecture patrons, and architectural photographers.

Since 2004, the foundation has given the award at a gala dinner held in the Hall of Mirrors at the architecturally significant Netherland Plaza hotel. The Apple Award Gala, which is held each May, has become a major benefit for the education and outreach programs of the foundation. Speakers have included Paul Goldberger, Stewart Brand, honorees Buck Niehoff, Dr. Stanley Kaplan, and Thomas R. Schiff.

2010 honorees of the AFC Apple Award: Thomas Klinedinst, Jr., the late Erich Kunzel, Norma Peterson, Patricia and Ralph Corbett.

Maestro Erich Kunzel, who came to Cincinnati in 1965, spent 45 years conducting the Cincinnati Pops in Music Hall, at Riverbend, and in important national and international venues, including Beijing for the 2008 Olympics. He was a member of the Classical Music Hall of Fame and director emeritus of the Cincinnati Pops. Kunzel had a dream that he did not live to see completely realized—it was for Cincinnati Public School’s School for the Creative and Performing Arts to relocate and expand to a K-12 arts school near Music Hall where professionals could mentor students. And when SCPA opens in Over-the-Rhine in August 2010, the building will bear Kunzel’s name.

Norma Petersen is one of the most energetic volunteers supporting the arts and education in Cincinnati. Her current service is focused primarily on the preservation of Music Hall as a national treasure and building the new SCPA facility. She is a founding member (immediate past president) of the Society for the Preservation of Music Hall (SPMH). The most recent achievement of SPMH was to facilitate the installation of the Albee Theater’s Wurlitzer organ in the Music Hall ballroom. With Maestro Kunzel, Norma founded and directed the Greater Cincinnati Arts & Education Center (GCAEC).

The Corbett Foundation, established by the late J. Ralph and Patricia Corbett, has been one of the principal sponsors of Cincinnati facilities for the performing arts and arts education for more than 50 years. It led the preservation and renovation of Music Hall and construction of the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music. The Corbett Foundation made the essential lead gift to SCPA. Supporting the K-12 school was consistent with the foundation’s tradition of support for arts education, from preschool to graduate school.

Thomas J. Klinedinst, Jr. has a long history of support for the arts and education. His interest in arts education led to his tenure as president and now chairman of the Greater Cincinnati Arts and Education Center, which was formed to provide private support for the new SCPA School. Tom saw that Kunzel’s dream came to fruition, and he helped lead the successful initiative to have the building named in Kunzel’s honor. In addition to GCAEC, Tom currently serves on the Drop-in Center board, the Archbishop’s Finance Council for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, the President’s Advisory Committee for Xavier University, and the Franciscan Friars Finance Council.