Polah, Andre, 1892-1949

Andre Polah (1892-1949) was born in Holland and began studying music at age six, at The Hague in his home country. Later he studied at the Royal Conservatory of Music, then at Liege University and finally the Paris Conservatoire. At sixteen he began playing violin in concert. In 1917, at the end of World War I, Polah was released from a German prison camp and came with his Belgian teacher, Eugene Ysaye, to the United States. That year he began touring with John McCormack and later conducted and played in concert with symphony orchestras worldwide. He eventually secured a position as head of the violin department at Syracuse University in the late 1920s, conducting their orchestra as well. In 1935 he was invited to be concertmaster of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, a position he held for four years. His music was well received throughout his career.