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Teen pianist kicks off Summer Concerts

By Courtney Llewellyn, Reminder Assistant Editor

LONGMEADOW - July 10 will bring about the first of this season's Summer Concert Series on the Longmeadow Green. The first show will be a solo performance from14-year-old Griffin McMahon.

He will be the youngest artist ever to perform for the series.

Kelly Zieba, the Director of School Age Services with the Longmeadow Parks and Recreation Department, chose McMahon after seeing him play.

"He has a radiant personality, and he's very talented," Zieba said. In addition to being very talented, Zieba chose McMahon because of his appeal.

"He's from the area, so he'll bring in a lot of local folks," she said. Another reason she expects him to be popular is because of his age.

"Kids his age will be coming out to see him, as will the Baby Boomers because of what he plays," Zieba explained.

McMahon, who's only been playing piano for about three-and-a-half years, performs a wide variety of music, from more modern acts like Ben Folds to classic rock favorites like Elton John, Billy Joel and the Beatles.

"It really started when he went to an Elton John concert," his mother, Donna, said. Once he began playing the piano, she said he learned rapidly. "He's a pretty impressive kid."

McMahon has performed at Fusion Cafe in East Longmeadow, the Westside Taste of the Valley festival and the Rays of Hope breast cancer fundraiser.

"I played for almost 10,000 people at Rays of Hope," he said. "It was a lot of fun."

McMahon is a philanthropist at heart. He said that really enjoys taking part in fundraisers. In April, he and his older brother played a show together and raised $600 for the USO.

In addition to performing and being charitable, McMahon also plays the pipe organ on Sundays at the Church of the Good Shepherd in West Springfield and teaches piano lessons to 14 students.

He'll be starting as a freshman at Longmeadow High School this fall, and is very excited about the music program there.

"I'll be playing bass in the band and I was the only incoming freshman who made it into the Lyrics Ensemble," McMahon boasted.

He claims he's not worried about stage fright, despite all the performing he does.

"I love performing," he said. "And the more I do it, the easier it gets. I enjoy the rapport I feel with an audience."

It's a good thing he doesn't get nervous onstage because when he's not playing piano by himself, he's also in a rock band (with the working name of Tidwell's Treasure) with his older brother.

"He has that charisma that it takes to be an entertainer," Zieba said.

She expects 200 to 500 people to attend McMahon's show, which begins at 6:30 p.m. on July 10 and is free of charge.

For more information, visit his Web site at www.griffinmcmahon.com.