Jeff Rizzo Memorial Fund

Jeffrey Jerome Rizzo Memorial Fund
(click to go to the donation page)

June 16, 1954 – May 1, 2023

Jeff Rizzo spent his life in musical theater — as a conductor, arranger, and composer whose career took him from summer stock to Madison Square Garden, from regional productions to a Grammy-nominated cast album. If it had a score and an orchestra pit, Jeff had an opinion about it. Usually a correct one.

In 2021, Jeff and his partner of 39 years (all tolled), Eric Andrist, did what they had long dreamed of doing. They left Los Angeles, found a magnificent 1915 Craftsman landmark in Oxnard called the Henry Levy House, and began the next chapter — together, in a home worthy of everything they had built over their lifetimes.

Neither of them knew it would be Jeff’s final performance.

A local doctor, who has since surrendered his license to the Medical Board of California, failed to recognize the severity of Jeff’s Pulmonary Fibrosis and abandoned his care. By the time the true picture became clear, Jeff no longer qualified for the lung transplant that could have saved his life, and the doctor failed to prescribe medications that could have prolonged Jeff’s life. He died on May 1, 2023 — too soon, and with so much still left to do.

Jeff and Eric had no heirs. What they had was each other, a shared vision, and this house. Jeff would have wanted every last resource — every talent, every dollar of savings — poured into making the Henry Levy House something the world could share and inherit. A living landmark. A cultural home. Something worth leaving behind.

Eric has done exactly that. But the money has run out, and the dream is too important to stop here.

The Jeff Rizzo Memorial Fund is how we finish what Jeff started. Contributions support the music room he loved, the Jeff Rizzo Musical Theater Project dedicated to the Broadway tradition that was his life’s work, and the ongoing mission of the Henry Levy House Arts & Heritage Center.

Please indicate in your payment notes whether you’d like your gift directed toward the House Restoration Fund, the future-planned Jeff Rizzo Musical Theater Program, or to the General Nonprofit Fund. All donations are fully tax-deductible under our 501(c)(3) status (EIN: 41-5317312).

For Jeff. For the house. For what comes next.