By Colleen D’Angelo
When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure.
Perhaps that is why the Dublin Jerome High School auditorium has been packed the past few years for “Christine’s Christmas,” with adults and children dressed in their holiday best. Each year, a single blue light shines onstage, encircling performer Mark King as he intensely plays a grand piano. There’s no Santa, snowmen or wrapped presents. The real gift is the music, played from the heart, in memory of a life ended too soon.
When Mark plays and sings “Silent Night,” my mind drifts back to the April day in 2003 when our 19-year-old neighbor, Christine Wilson, died with four friends in a house fire near The Ohio State University campus. Christine was a favorite babysitter among many of the neighborhood families and like a daughter to Mark and his wife Heidi.
Many of the Wilsons’ friends and neighbors heard Christine was in the fire and we gathered in their driveway, hoping she had somehow survived. Now, as I look around the Jerome auditorium, I see many familiar faces, and I know this comforts the Wilsons as well as the Kings. Once again, people have bonded together, shown what it means to be a community, and reminded me why Dublin is special.
I saw it at the first Christine Wilson Memorial 5k Run in August 2003. Nine hundred runners and walkers participated, and it was evident the grieving mode was shifting toward a healing mode. People were celebrating Christine’s life and trying to create good from an unspeakable tragedy. The run continues today, with more than 450 people participating in June 2008 (the event raised almost $12,000 for the Christine Wilson Foundation, of which Mark is a founding trustee).
The next day, Mark decided to make a recording of piano music in Christine’s memory. Mark is a radiologist at OSU with an extensive musical background. Highlights include opening for Blood, Sweat and Tears and Billy Joel when he played for the band Rapid Transit. He also played keyboards for a song called No One Knows by Wild Mary, which reached No. 13 on the Billboard Dance Chart in 1987.
These days, as a busy husband, father and doctor, most of Mark’s piano playing is done with the band at his church or at a neighbor’s house if begged. To Mark, the idea of making a recording of Christmas music seemed like a mission from God. Christmas was special to Christine and her favorite holiday. She always took out every garland, light and ornament and decorated the house and Christmas tree from top to bottom. Mark felt he had found a way to keep Christine’s memory and love of Christmas alive.
Mark thought only briefly about the structure of his arrangements and sat down and played. He recorded Christine’s Christmas in just two hours. It was spontaneous and inspired by Christine and the fragility of life.
In December 2003, the Kings invited Pam and Tim Wilson over for a holiday cocktail. As the friends sat by the fire chatting, Pam commented she was enjoying the beautiful background music. Mark said, “I’m glad you like it, I made it for you.” With that, Mark handed the Wilsons the CD he called Christine’s Christmas.
Within the first two weeks, the CD sold about 2,000 copies with essentially no advertising. Mark started Christine’s Christmas Concert in December 2004 based on the positive response to the CD. The reaction to the concert has been extraordinary and Mark is thrilled to share what he calls his “favorite hour of the year.”
The concert has raised more than $80,000 for various charities, and has now found a fit with The Center for Child and Family Advocacy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. One hundred percent of concert funds are given to the CCFA to help with the treatment and prevention of child abuse and domestic violence. The Kings and the Wilsons are sure Christine would approve: she loved children and babysitting and planned to teach elementary education. Christine prided herself on being a role model for children of all ages.
In the last few years, Christine’s Christmas Concert has maintained its understated form, yet expanded to include other performers. This year, Mark will again be joined by cellist Nathan Kufchak, the Columbus Children’s Choir, the Jerome High School Choir and special guest vocalist Carolyn King, his niece. Returning vocalist Denise Alexander will sing Breath of Heaven, one of Christine’s favorite songs. A reception with a silent auction will follow at Tartan Fields Golf Club.
Join me at Christine’s Christmas Concert and start your holidays off by remembering the true meaning of the season. Close your eyes and see where the music takes you. Allow yourself to listen, reflect and share in this unique experience.
“‘Round yon virgin mother and child, holy infant so tender and mild, sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace.”
Colleen D’Angelo is a contributing writer for Dublin Life.
IF YOU GO...
Christine’s Christmas Concert will begin at 5 p.m. Dec. 14 at Dublin Jerome High School, 8300 Hyland-Croy Rd. Adults are $50 and students are $20. A reception with silent auction will immediately follow at the Tartan Fields Golf Club, 8070 Tartan Fields Dr. in Dublin. Proceeds from the concert and reception will benefit The Center for Child and Family Advocacy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
For more information on the concert or to purchase tickets, call 614-355-0810 or visit www.nationwidechildrens.org.
To learn more about the Christine Wilson Foundation, visit www.christinewilsonfoundation.org.