Starting a band is a classic high school dream, but a jazz band is a more unusual tune. Sophia Wolfson (’26) has brought that vision to life with “Jazzy Jellyfish,” a student-led group of young musicians sharing good music with the community.
For the past four summers, the band has played at public venues around Tampa during the summer months, when students have more time to rehearse and perform.
This summer was no different. On Saturday, July 19, Jazzy Jellyfish played a free concert hosted by the Moose Lodge on Gandy.
Now entering her senior year, Wolfson used the event to complete her CAS service project, a required part of the International Baccalaureate diploma program that asks students to create a meaningful, sustained project for the community.
“The band director at Robinson, Christopher Revett, signs off on the hours,” Wolfson said.
Beyond that, the band is fully run by students.
“Sophia formed the band with the intent of letting the kids have the opportunity to make the decisions and become the band directors,” keyboardist Kiley Willhite (‘28) said.
As the founding member, Wolfson has led the group from the beginning.
“I lead about half the time during rehearsals, and I have a friend who is currently at UF majoring in Music Education who leads the other half of the time,” Wolfson said.
Still, leadership is shared among the members.
“It’s a very open-floor environment so anyone in the band who has an idea is welcome to share it,” Wolfson said.
The band is very versatile in its Hillsborough representation, including students from all over the county.
“We have people from Alonso, Sickles, Robinson, Plant, Hillsborough High School. My youngest three members are going into their sophomore year of high school and the oldest people are going to be juniors in college,” Wolfson said. “The Robinson members include Kiley Willhoite and Logan Dellechiaie.”
Most members join through personal connections.
“I was introduced through Robinson’s drum major Larissa Levy (‘25) who knew Sophia was looking for someone who could play the keyboard,” Willhite said.
For Wolfson, the band has always been about community as much as music.
“It’s really just who I have met and have access to. When I was a freshman, who were seniors then, and who are freshmen now. This year 4 of us were original members,” Wolfson said.
That same thoughtfulness carries into how she chooses the music.
“I do pick the music myself, and I let band members request songs if they wish. The songs we play usually come down to how much the audience will like it, so my intent is to have a selection that anyone will enjoy listening to, not just what musicians like playing,” Wolfson said.
Wolfson has noticed a steady improvement in the band’s sound.“Each year as we get older, we perform at a higher level so I was happy with how we played this year,” Wolfson said.
There are still challenges, especially when the group tackles unfamiliar pieces.
“Because we’re playing without a conductor, it’s more difficult to play songs we don’t know, especially when people don’t listen to it beforehand, which was an issue this year,” Wolfson said.
She is already thinking about how to make things smoother next time. And there may be more performances to come.
“The president of PTSA reached out to us and is interested in us playing for money. So our next event could possibly be at some Robinson function,” Wolfson said.
