Martha and Mel Rosenblatt: A 67-Year Bond in Music

By LORI CORREALE

MEL AND MARTHA ROSENBLATT MET AT A PARTY WHEN MEL WAS A FRESHMAN at Clark University. “Dad crossed the room to meet the girl in the red sweater” or so the story goes, according to Martha and Mel’s son David Rosenblatt. “For our parents, celebrating and supporting Rockport Music was the perfect combination of their two great loves—music and Cape Ann” says David. Judy Sockol, Martha and Mel’s daughter, adds, “Married for 67 years, theirs was a true love story and everyone who knew them could see that.

They were a tightly bonded couple and that bond included a bond of music.”

Mel had an illustrious career as a CPA and trusted business advisor with the Worcester accounting firm, Greenberg, Rosenblatt, Kull & Bitsoli. For many years, he served as Managing Partner and CEO of the firm. A graduate of Clark University, he was a devoted alumnus and served as a Trustee for over 55 years. After his retirement, Mel and Martha moved permanently to Gloucester, a community that they dearly loved, where they were both active in local politics, devotees of Temple Ahavat Achim in Gloucester and the Cape Ann YMCA, as well as being avid Rockport Music patrons.

Both originally from Worcester, Martha was a Smith College graduate. “She was a beautiful writer and wrote plays in her spare time,” according to daughter Judy. She wrote and produced a musical on the life of King David which enjoyed a four-week run at the National Jewish Theatre in Washington, D.C. in 1989.

It was Martha who originally had the connection with Gloucester. Since the late ‘30s, her extended family had a summer home on Beach Road. Martha grew up spending summers there with her parents, aunts, uncles and cousins who shared the home. In the late ‘70s Mel and Martha purchased their treasured home on Decatur Street where they lived until their passing this past June, within one week of each other. “I have enduring images of my mother sitting on their porch at their Decatur Street home listening to classical music” says Judy.

Mel and Martha had a lifetime love of music. “There was always music in our lives growing up” says Judy. They were fixtures in the Shalin Liu Performance Center every summer for our annual Rockport Chamber Music Festival and many other concerts. Mel was one of the founding members of the Rockport Music Council. They were dedicated to the arts both on Cape Ann and in Boston and made regular trips to the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

All of us at Rockport Music were very saddened by Martha and Mel’s recent passing. We are truly honored and grateful to be included in their estate plans. Mel and Martha joined our Linden Tree Society, Rockport Music’s legacy giving society, in 2019 by naming Rockport Music as the beneficiary of an IRA—a simple and generous method of providing for our organization beyond their lifetime. By becoming a member of our Linden Tree Society, you can help to ensure that we can keep the music playing into the future, as Martha and Mel have done.

Their presence and impact will be felt in the Shalin Liu Performance Center for years to come.

If you would like to consider joining the Linden Tree Society by including Rockport Music in your estate plans, please contact: Lori Correale Director of Development 978.546.7391 x103 lcorreale@rockportmusic.org rockportmusic.org/planned giving

BENEFITS OF LINDEN TREE SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP INCLUDE:

• Being part of a warm community inspired by musical excellence and the beauty of Cape Ann.

• Invitations to special receptions, seminars and concerts throughout the year.

• Listing in select Rockport Music publications (or you may remain anonymous if you prefer).