By Jessica Davis, JTNews Correspondent
As a businessman by day and an internationally renowned tenor soloist by night, Melvyn Poll is a busy man.
Poll was born in Seattle into a musical family, and has been singing virtually all of his life. His mother was a violinist and soprano and his Russian grandfather a cantor. At a young age, Poll was a soloist in his secular and religious school choirs, performing in concerts and on television. Poll says he was the first-ever shofar blower at Temple De Hirsch in Seattle, at age 12.
In addition to singing, he also picked up the violin, drums and trumpet.
When he started singing as a child, a baritone at the time, he was told to move his lips to the music so no one would hear him. This motivated him to take some singing lessons.
“I never thought of myself as a singer per se, it was just something I did,” he said.
His voice teacher, German-born Gustave Stern, recognized Poll’s promising operatic voice early on. As Poll’s voice matured, he began to study in earnest and perform with the local summer theater. At the same time, his Russian immigrant father encouraged him to study law. Poll earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and a Juris Doctorate, both from the University of Washington. But, motivated by his teacher and the legendary Jan Peerce, he embarked on a career in opera.
After taking vocal coaching in San Francisco and New York, he performed several seasons in Germany and with the Israel National Opera before making his American debut with the New York City Opera as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly. Performing in both the United States and Europe, Poll has also sung on the opera stages of Seattle, Boston, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and New York. A frequent symphony soloist, he has appeared regularly with the Seattle Symphony, collaborating with Gerard Schwarz on works of Handel, Mozart, Beethoven and Mahler in Seattle, Minneapolis and New York’s Avery Fisher and Carnegie halls.
From 1980–1986, Poll was a cantor/musical director at Temple De Hirsch Sinai.
“I really enjoyed doing it,” he said. “I’m not a traditional Jew, but I do like tradition.”
Now, at age 62, Poll has released his own album, Tosti in England and expects to release another by next year. On the new album, he performs songs by English composer Roger Quilter, with organist Paul Olson, who he met years ago at Temple De Hirsch Sinai.
A Seattle-based investor and developer, Poll also spends a large portion of his time running his family’s business, Poll Investments, Inc. He recently had a hand in redeveloping the Alki Market, a 10,000-square-foot full-service store, near the historic landing site of Seattle’s early settlers, the Denny party, in West Seattle. Purchased by Jim and Laurie McDevitt in 1999, Alki Market is family-owned and operated, providing a neighborhood-gathering place. Poll’s family has owned the Alki property, located at 2820 Alki Ave. SW, for nearly 40 years. Before its eight-month renovation, the old grocery store deterred potential shoppers with its shabby exterior.
“It’s a development that helps the community,” said Poll.
The two-story structure, designed by architect Peter Rees of Seattle’s Rees-Hudacek, is nearly twice its former size, offering a full-service deli, a meat and seafood department with a full-time butcher and a sommelier. It features canvas awnings and retractable garage-style windows that can roll up for an open-market feel and a view of the beachfront during the summer.
By Thanksgiving, Melvyn Poll and his wife, Rosalind Poll, plan to move into a condo located on the second floor. Having long called Capitol Hill home, the couple is looking forward to the move to Alki.
“Alki is a unique place,” said Poll. “We love it so much, we want to live right up on top of it.”
The couple has two children, Sydney and Ryan, and one grandchild, Sasha. His daughter, Sydney Poll-Calvo, sings contralto and runs the family business with him. They recently performed a concert together for City of Hope in October.
Poll plans to perform a concert for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in the near future. He has a personal connection to the foundation: his brother’s life was extended by 23 years due to Poll’s kidney donation. For more than half a year, Poll, who had the operation in the front of his body, as to not scar his diaphragm, did not have enough stamina to sing.
On Nov. 16, Poll will perform the song cycle An Die Ferne Geliebte with the Northwest Chamber Orchestra in Showcase II. See the Arts Calendar on page 19 for details.