Scholarship Recipient Chosen
Congratulations to Christopher Coyne for being chosen as this year's recipient of the Jeffrey Defrino scholarship. The scholarship is awarded every year to a graduating student at the Paxton Center School. The recipient is always a musician who shares their music with others and the community, makes a difference in the world with their music, and deeply feels that music has changed their life.Christopher started oboe lessons in Ohio beginning in April 2004. He performed as 1st chair oboe as part of the Worcester Youth Concert Orchestra under the direction of Audrey White. Christopher was selected to be part of the Worcester Youth Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Cynthia Woods and will begin this fall.
Celebrate the Life of Jeffrey DeFrino Feb. 13, 2005
The show was on February 13th, 2005 at the Worcester Public Library in honor of the memory of Jeffrey DeFrino. The show, which was held at 2 p.m. celebrated the life of the Auburn teen who died of heart failure in 2001. Mackenzie performed a variety of songs along with his older sister, Amanda.
The show, titled "Remembering Jeffrey", got its name from a song Mackenzie composed for Jeffrey. Other song selections included music from Billy Joel, Jim Brickman, John Lennon, Phil Collins, and Mackenzie's former teacher, Pianist/Composer Dean Arvidson. There was also a fun, interactive "Name That Tune" part where Mack tested the audience's musical knowledge.
Donations are appreciated for the Jeffrey DeFrino/Mackenzie Melemed Music Scholarship, which will be awarded annually to a graduating eighth grade student of Paxton Center School.
E-mail Mackenzie for more info, or send checks to: Paxton Center School (Specify Jeffrey Fund in Memo Line) 19 West St, Paxton, MA. 01612.
Show Review
People started showing up for the show at 1:15 for the 2:00 performance. As the crowd thickened, more and more chairs were brought into the "Saxe Room" to accommodate the crowd. The room was filled to capacity. Unfortunately, over 100 people had to be turned away. This was a huge dissappointment for "The Little Piano Man" and the DeFrino Family. Mackenzie opened up the show with heartfelt gratitude, to the audience for attending.
There was a video presentation of the late Jeffery DeFrino that encompassed his life. There was also a short video of Mackenzie on N.E.C.N. highlighting his new single, "Remembering Jeffery", honoring this Auburn teen. The program lasted 2 hours which included vocalist, Amanda Melemed.
There were songs from, Jim Brickman, Phil Collins, John Lennon, Bon Jovi, the Gershwin Brothers, and more. There was a special rendition from, "The Sound Of Music". "My Favorite Things" was replaced with, "Jeff's Favorite Things". (Look for the Lyrics written by Domenic Belsito to appear in this column.) There was a reading by Beth DeFrino of two of Jeffrey's pieces of poetry he wrote himself. Tony DeFrino spoke with passion about his son, how happy Jeff would be to have another scholarship in his name, and to have a composition in his name. He thanked the people who'd previously donated into "The Jeffrey DeFrino Scholarship Fund" at Auburn High School.
There was audience participation in Mackenzie's well known game of, "Name That Tune". A Triva Game came next, which tested the audience's knowledge of Jeffrey & Mackenzie. There were many donations given to the winners of the game. Some of the sponsors were, "Belsito's Deli in Worcester, Martha's Cut Salon in Marlborough, Chuck's Steak House in Auburn, Bayberry Bowling in Spencer, The Beechwood Hotel in Worcester, and The Crown Plaza in Worcester."
There was a special imitation of Billy Joel by Mackenzie. Dressed up in a black velvet coat, black shirt, dark glasses, and harmonica in hand. The "Little Piano Man" played a medely of 9 songs of Billy Joel's. The finale of the show was, after the signature piece was played, "Remembering Jeffrey", there was a moment of silence to honor Jeff and remember him. During that time, Domenic Belsito brought out a beautiful portrait of Jeffrey painted by artist Bud Burnham of Plainville MA.
While the family reflected on the portrait, refreshments were served. There were home-made heart shaped cookies with the letter, "J" in the middle of each cookie. (To keep Jeff in our hearts.) The Show raised close to $2,000 dollars for the Scholarship Fund. Ongoing Donations greatly appreciated. Mackenzie personally commissioned the portrait of Jeffrey from sales of his 2 CD's.
Mackenzie presents Chris Coyne the Jeffery DeFrino/Mackenzie Melemed scholarship at 8th grade graduation.
Cover - single released by Mackenzie in memory of Jeffrey
Mom, Amanda, Mr. & Mrs. DeFrino, Domenic with Mackenzie presenting portrait of Jeffrey
Performing during heart week at Worcester Medical Center honoring Jeffrey DeFrino
