He's spent 50 years giving to the arts

For 50 years Julian Cohen has made money in real estate, and for almost that long, Cohen, one of the most generous philanthropists in Boston, has given his money away to cultural institutions.

Cohen developed the Mall at Chestnut Hill, among other things, and he is about to open the new Mandarin Oriental Hotel & Residences next year. Along the way, he has given so much money to the Boston Symphony Orchestra -- $13 million to date -- that the BSO named the Eunice and Julian Cohen Wing after him and his late wife.

His most recent gift to the BSO in September was made to support opening night at the symphony.

"Julian Cohen is the most generous donor to the BSO in its 125-year history," says BSO managing director Mark Volpe. Cohen, 82, endowed Volpe's position as well as that of Pops conductor Keith Lockhart.

"I meet with him two or three times a year," Volpe says of Cohen. "He's proud to be associated with one of the greatest orchestras in the country. He loves the Pops, and he's interested beyond the financial side."

Cohen's generosity has also enhanced the Museum of Fine Arts, resulting in the Eunice and Julian Cohen Galleria, one of the museum's most popular areas. The galleria is a central part of the MFA's I.M. Pei West Wing and contains works by Jonathan Borofsky, Jenny Holzer, David Smith, and other contemporary artists.

"Julian 'Julie' Cohen is a great benefactor of the MFA, meaning he has given in his lifetime over $2.5 million," says Anne Cowie, senior development officer/associate campaign director of the MFA. Cohen made an additional gift to the MFA in 2006, but the museum would not disclose that figure.

The Maxwell Burstein Award, given by the Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Boston to recognize volunteers, was awarded this past fall to James Apteker, owner and chief executive of Longwood Events, a private function planning and management company in Boston.

When he was in his 20s, Apteker, working in his parents' restaurant, Veronique in Brookline, volunteered to be a big brother at the organization.

Now, as chief executive of the venues that include the State Room, Apteker, 41, serves on the board of the JBBBS, and he has taken his philanthropic streak to the job, where he keeps two full-time staffers to work on nonprofit events. Last year, the company gave nearly $1 million in discounts, in-kind donations, and consulting to nonprofits.

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