Media Contacts:
Derek Scalzott | Senior Director of Communications | Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
Scalzott@TrustArts.org | 412-471-8715
Media Advisory from the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust:
2025 ICON AWARDEES TO BE HONORED AT CULTURAL TRUST GALA ON SEPTEMBER 6
Charles R. “Chip” Burke, Jr.
on behalf of the Burke Family and the Grable Foundation
Icon Award for Outstanding Community Impact
Christopher Hahn
Icon Award for Outstanding Artistic Contributions
Sylvia Hill Fields
Icon Award for Outstanding Leadership
PITTSBURGH, PA, September 3, 2025: For the second consecutive year, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust will honor three exceptional individuals whose distinguished careers have profoundly shaped our region’s arts and cultural landscape with the 2025 Icon Awards presentation during the non-profit arts organization’s annual Gala sponsored by PNC, this Saturday, September 6, 2025, at the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts in the Cultural District.
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust ICON AWARD for OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY IMPACT
Charles R. “Chip” Burke, Jr. will accept this award on behalf of the Burke Family and the Grable Foundation. Burke is Chairman of The Grable Foundation—a family foundation dedicated to improving the lives of children in the Pittsburgh region. By supporting programs essential to young people and families, the Foundation aims to make Pittsburgh the best place in the world for children and families. Family and Foundation support of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust includes contributions to the organization’s arts education initiatives.
In addition to his role at Grable, Burke has chaired the boards of several nonprofits and schools, including Fred Rogers Productions, Grantmakers of Western Pennsylvania, and the Fox Chapel Area School District. A 2015 recipient of the Excellence in Mentoring Award, Burke also serves as director emeritus for the Mentoring Partnership of Southwestern Pennsylvania.
A graduate of Kenyon College (B.A., psychology) and Bowling Green State University (M.A., French literature), Burke taught at The Linsly School in Wheeling, West Virginia, before joining The Grable Foundation in 1991. He lives in Pittsburgh with his wife, Carole, and their five children: Charlie, George, Sam, Amy, and Griffin. In his free time, he enjoys training for triathlons with his friends.
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust ICON AWARD for OUTSTANDING ARTISTIC CONTRIBUTIONS
Christopher Hahn has been committed to artistic excellence in Pittsburgh for more than 25 years. He was appointed General Director of Pittsburgh Opera in 2008, having served as Artistic Director since 2000.
Since then, he has significantly enriched the company’s repertoire, introducing Baroque and contemporary operas presented in a variety of production styles, and turned Pittsburgh Opera’s Resident Artists program into one of the country’s leading young artist training programs. He is planning to retire following Pittsburgh Opera’s 2025-26 season.
Trained in his native South Africa, Hahn began his career in opera in 1983 at San Francisco Opera as Rehearsal Administrator. He then managed the San Francisco Opera Center, including the world-renowned Merola Opera Program. Following his 13-year tenure in San Francisco, he served as Artistic Administrator at Los Angeles Opera.
Hahn’s expertise in recognizing young vocal talent has made him a sought-after juror at vocal competitions such as the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. This expertise is also one of the reasons Pittsburgh Opera’s Resident Artist alumni regularly win prestigious national and international awards and go on to stellar careers in opera.
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust ICON AWARD for OUTSTANDING LEADERSHIP
Sylvia Hill Fields gave philanthropic leadership to the Pittsburgh region as the executive director of the Eden Hall Foundation, which provides funding for health, education and social welfare programs. Recently retired, she was the first and only African American woman to direct a major private foundation in the Pittsburgh area. Eden Hall Foundation’s support of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust under Fields’s leadership included essential contributions for the naming and renovation of the Greer Cabaret Theater and construction of Arts Landing, among other initiatives.
Named twice as one of Pittsburgh’s 50 Most Influential African American Women by the New Pittsburgh Courier, her work has benefited programs on the local, state and national levels. Fields was invited to the White House to share information on exemplary initiatives and grants made by the Eden Hall Foundation. In 2012, the National Recreation and Parks Association recognized her along with the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy for their important work in supporting public-private partnerships for parks.
Fields is a coalition builder, adept at bringing people together and fostering collaboration among organizations. She is a true partner with many organizations including Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh, and her alma mater Seton Hill University, and she serves on the national boards of the YWCA and the World Affairs Council. She currently serves as Vice Chair of the Allegheny Regional Asset District.
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About the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust | The Cultural Trust is one of the nation’s premier arts presenters and a major catalytic influence in Pittsburgh, having overseen one of the city’s most historic transformations: turning a red-light district into a magnet destination for arts-lovers, residents, visitors, and business owners. Founded in 1984, the Cultural Trust presents an array of quality performing and visual arts, provides comprehensive educational experiences, and stewards Pittsburgh’s Cultural District as a national model of economic revitalization through the arts. Lauded as “the single greatest creative force in Pittsburgh,” the Cultural Trust has worked to make Pittsburgh a place where the arts can flourish. The 14-block Cultural District, a project of the Cultural Trust, has become a vibrant center for culture, art, food, and community in downtown Pittsburgh, providing a home for a broad range of performance groups and resident companies. More than one million people visit the Cultural District each year, generating more than $300M in economic impact for the region. | TrustArts.org | Facebook · Instagram · TikTok