Day in the Life: Music keeps band director quickstepping
Mark Doerffel never knows the luxury of being anonymous.
Part of that comes with his height: at 6-foot-7 he's going to stand out from the crowd.
The other part is, as the third-year band director at Scotland High School, he's gotten past the surprise that everyone seems to know who he is.
"It's a good thing, actually," Doerffel said while making some last-minute tweaks on his band's halftime show. "It's a lot better than having nobody know or care about what the band is doing."
When he came to Laurinburg from Wilmington, Doerffel wasn't accustomed to anyone recognizing him, expect perhaps from church.
"Now, everywhere I go, someone wants to talk about the band," he said. "We are an extraordinarily busy organization."
Sometimes too busy. As he prepared for after-school practice, Doerffel realized he hadn't had time to finish the lunch that was sitting on his desk.
The economy has caused some changes. The band is a little smaller this year as some students had to take jobs after school to help their families. They also don't go to all the road games, a money-saving move that upset some fans.
"I understand it," he said. "They had to cut somewhere. Everyone is tightening their belts. It was just something that had to be done."
Still there's plenty of energy in the band room.
"We build on what's come before," Doerffel said. "And once marching season is done, we go straight into concerts and indoor performances. If there's a slow time in band, I haven't found it yet."