How Joe and Doris Polak Fell in Love
It all started with beautiful music during a symphony rehearsal in their college years. He was the new bassoonist on the scene and she was the clarinetist whose heart was a flutter over the new bassoonist. She had caught a glimpse of him earlier in the week in the practice room, and she was smitten.
During the rehearsal, when the conductor stopped for a bit to work with the strings, Doris quietly said to the new bassoonist that she was hungry and had missed dinner. No response. At the next brief pause in the music, she tried again. No response. Doris decided he must not be interested and anything but his double reed, so she gave 100% back to rehearsal and put the new bassoonist out of her mind.
To her surprise, at the next break, he looked over at her and asked, “Would you like to get a bite to eat or coffee after rehearsal?” That was their first date and six weeks later they were engaged! They moved to the Philadelphia area after graduation and were students of the principal clarinetist and bassoonist of the Philadelphia Orchestra. When Joe passed away in 2008 of pancreatic cancer, they had been married for forty-six music-filled fabulous years.
We are so grateful to have the lovely Doris Polak as part of the Carmel Symphony Orchestra (CSO) League, and we thank her for sharing her beautiful love story with us. Beautiful music and love really do go hand in hand. Why not join the CSO for Beethoven, Brahms and the Scotts on February 13th at 7:30 p.m.? It will be an evening to remember!
