Arnold N. Ostroff

Arnold N. Ostroff   

1945-2023

Arnold Ostroff passed peacefully in his home on July 11, 2023, after a multi-year battle with cancer. He was a long-time resident of Springfield, Delaware County, where he lived with his wife, Barbara, for over 50 years. He is also survived by his son Michael (Gloria), daughter Elyse Hoffmann (Carl), brother Stephen, and grandchildren Leah Ostroff and Isobel Hoffmann. 

A talented pianist, Arnie had been a member of the Delaware County Symphony (DCS) for nearly forty years. He appeared as featured soloist on seventeen occasions performing piano concertos by Beethoven, Brahms, Saint-Saëns, Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn, and Prokofiev. He also participated in numerous chamber series programs as either a soloist or as part of a musical ensemble. When not on stage as a pianist, he was seen in the percussion section playing cymbals or electric keyboard. He also served as DCS board president and fulfilled many other volunteer duties for the orchestra.

In his youth, Arnie studied piano with Clement Petrillo at the Philadelphia Musical Academy. At age sixteen he was a winner of the Junior Student Auditions and performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Academy of Music. He also appeared on local television and performed concertos with the Lansdown Symphony Orchestra, the Marple Newtown String Ensemble, Philadelphia Musical Academy Orchestra, and the Garden State Philharmonic. In the following years, he was a finalist at an international competition in Chicago sponsored by the Artists’ Advisory Council and gave performances at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Philadelphia Civic Center.

Mr. Ostroff was born in Philadelphia and graduated from the 219^th class at Central High School in 1963. He had degrees in electrical engineering from Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania. In 2010 he retired from the U.S. Navy after forty-five years of civilian service. His last position was as Director of Strategic Planning for the Carderock Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center. He received many honorariums and is a Sigma Alpha Iota Friend of the Arts. His non-musical interests included travel, puzzle-solving, photography, and spending time with his family.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Delaware County Symphony at dcsmusic.org/donations.