Orlofsky reflects on a career that's been anything but ordinary

BLUE HILL—Steven Orlofsky always thought he would be a high school band director.

- CLARK TATE

Instead, he became a director of instrumental music, thanks to a friend who said, “Oh, band director, that’s too ordinary,” according to Orlofsky. That friend wasn’t wrong. After 34 award-winning years at George Stevens Academy, culminating in a Jazz Educator Award at the 2021 National Jazz Festival on May 22, Orlofsky’s career has been anything but ordinary.

His students also did well that day. Normally, only the honors jazz band, known as Jazz Immunity, attends the annual competition in Philadelphia. This year, though, the costs to attend the virtual version were lower, so the school entered all three jazz groups, called combos. They include the larger Jazz Band and the Early Bird Combo, which is for students motivated enough to show up at 7 a.m.; most also have prior commitments after school, such as baseball, track, or tennis practice. “We bend over backwards and try not to conflict with those sports activities,” says Orlofsky. “I’m a sucker for making kids happy.”