Bennington Center for the Arts presents 14-year-old
virtuoso
Entertainment
Posted: 04/09/2009 03:02:55 AM EDT
Thursday, April 9
BENNINGTON — While most 14-year-olds are plugged
into an iPod, Mackenzie Melemed is perfecting his
Mozart sonatas. While most 14-year-olds are kicking
around a soccer ball, Mackenzie Melemed is presenting
fund-raising concerts for charitable organizations.
While most 14-year-olds are cruising the mall, Mackenzie
Melemed is performing at Carnegie Hall. You?re probably
getting the picture that Mackenzie Melemed is not
your typical 14-year-old!
On Friday, April 17th at 7:30 pm the Bennington
Center for the Arts presents Mackenzie Melemed in
concert. This remarkable young man, an eighth grade
student at the Bancroft School in Worcester, Mass.,
began to play piano at the age of 5, and has astounded
audiences since long before he could reach the pedals.
No stranger to Bennington, Melemed spent two summers
studying with Summer Sonatina on Catamount Street
in Old Bennington. He has been invited to perform
at the White House every holiday season for the
past four years and in 2008 he was selected to perform
on PBS' From the Top: Live at Carnegie Hall.
In and of themselves, each of these would be a
remarkable achievement. Add to this an abiding commitment
to community, which has led him to perform over
500 concerts for numerous senior citizen venues,
charitable organizations and schools, and garnered
him a citation from the United States House of Representatives.
The award recognizes him for his volunteer spirit and selfless offering of his musical talents. This
is quite a young man!
His media coverage includes appearances on The Rosie
O'Donnell Show, The Wayne Brady Show, and The Sharon
Osborne Show. He has appeared on America's Funniest
Videos, The Morning Show in Philadelphia, as well
as numerous national television and radio commercials.
One of his proudest achievements was playing the
role of Mozart as a child in a Mozart Medical Mystery
series on the Discovery Channel, delving into the
life and death of the famous prodigy. Melemed portrays
the young Wolfgang in the throes of illness, and
also plays an antique harpsichord while blindfolded.
Mackenzie will present a program of classical favorites,
including Ballades No.2 and.3 by Frederic Chopin
as well as his Sherzo No.2; Sonata No.3 in A Major
by Franz Schubert, and 32 Variations by Ludwig van
Beethoven. He very much looks forward to performing
on the Arts Center's handmade Fazioli grand piano.
An informal reception follows.
Tickets are $18 in advance, $20 at the door and
$10 for students. For reservations,e call the Bennington
Center for the Arts at 802-442-7158 or stop by the
Arts Center Friday, Saturday or Sunday from 10 a.m.
to 5 p.m. Tickets are also available at the Bennington
Bookshop, 467 Main St. in Bennington.
The Bennington Center for the Arts is a full-spectrum
non-profit arts complex located on Vermont Route
9 at Gypsy Lane in Bennington.
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