August 2024 No. 16

Friends and Supporters,

Please RSVP to our Annual Meeting by September 3

Monday, September 9 at 5:30 pm in Corbett Tower

Keynote Speaker: Andreas Lange

Year in Review: Peter E. Koenig, President, Friends of Music Hall 



Meet Nancy Knauf, the new Executive Director 

of Friends of Music Hall

Drinks and Light Bites from Eat Well

Entertainment by Lou Lausche

BLINK is back in the Ballroom!

BLINK is back! From October 17 to 20, 2024, Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky will once again be the setting for the nation’s largest light, art and projection-mapping experience. 



Music Hall will be aglow too! Four artists are designing unique lighting and projection installations. The acclaimed Rose Window will be lit too. BLINK in the Ballroom, presented by Friends of Music Hall and Cincinnati Arts Association, will showcase the talented theater organist, Trent Sims, playing a medley of new and classic songs on the 1927 Mighty Wurlitzer Organ from 7 - 10 p.m. each night. Guests will also experience a remarkable Music Hall model made with botanical materials by Applied Imagination in Alexandria, KY.

The event is free and open to the public. No ticket or reservation is required. Concessions will be available for purchase.

Carte-de-Viste of Exposition Hall, c. 1872-73, by Charles Waldack 

PHILIP D. SPIESS II, a sixth-generation Cincinnatian, says the Clifton gaslights turned him into a life-long "Victorian." His great-grandmother's early life stories in Cincinnati led to his fascination with history. He graduated from Hanover College and earned master's degrees from several universities. His 1970 thesis, "The Cincinnati Industrial Expositions (1870-1888): Propaganda or Progress?" uncovered details of the first six (1870-1875), held in Saengerhalle/Exposition Hall, and eight more in Music Hall (between 1879 and 1888) and began his Music Hall collection. 

Philip Spiess II & Thea Tjepkema, May 2024

Thea Tjepkema, FMH historian, gave a Music Hall tour to Spiess's 1964 Walnut Hills classmates that led to their email connection. When they met in Washington, D.C., where he lives, he shared stories of his hometown. He also donated 63 items from his collection to the Friends of Music Hall archives, adding clues to the 150-year history celebration coming in 2028. We thank Mr. Spiess for his generous donations!

CLICK HERE to read more about Philip D. Spiess II’s Music Hall connection, career, and donations.

To donate a piece of Music Hall history to the Friends of Music Hall, contact 513-744-3293 or admin@friendsofmusichall.org

Foyer Floor Restored and Preserved

This summer, the Friends of Music Hall hired an expert stone restoration company to restore Music Hall’s original 1878 red-and-white checkerboard lobby floor, bordered in black stone in the Edyth B. Lindner Grand Foyer and adjoining corridors. Many layers of modern acrylic coating and poorly color-matched fillers were removed, and the latest preservation technology has repaired and strengthened damaged tiles.

For the first time in 146 years, the red slate, white marble and black marble were returned to their original natural luster. The restored stone surface also provides easier maintenance and ensures that future generations of arts patrons will experience the stunning entrance to our historic High Victorian Gothic building.

Your donation helps to preserve Music Hall!