Steve Schaffner will retire after 22 years of conducting the Central junior, senior high school orchestras

As does any teacher, Steve Schaffner has highs and lows as orchestra director for Cape Girardeau Central junior and senior high schools. Now that Schaffner is retiring after 22 years, he said he'll miss his students more than anything.

"I'll miss the kids terribly," he said. "They keep you young."

Schaffner will give his "kids" one last piece of direction at 7 p.m. today when the Central High School orchestra presents its final concert of the year.

The concert, to be held in the Richard D. Kinder Performance Hall, promises to be an entertaining event with songs by the Beatles, The Mamas and the Papas and others being performed.

"It's my last show, so I can play whatever the heck I want," he said.

A student plays his viola in one of three beginners classes taught by Steve Schaffner Monday, April 22, 2013 at Cape Central Junior High School. After 22 years of leading the Central High School and Central Junior High School orchestra, Schaffner will be retiring at the end of this school year. (Laura Simon)

Although Schaffner has directed many orchestra performances over the years, he isn't an old classroom terror who wields a baton with a shaky hand. At age 54, he rides a bicycle to his junior high and senior high school classes, and his students appreciate the energy and enthusiasm he brings with him.

"He's a great teacher," said Nicholas Smentkowski, a senior at Central High School. "He's helped me grow a lot as a musician. I'm going to Southeast next year on a music scholarship, and Mr. Schaffner has played a big role in making that happen."

Dr. Mike Cowan, principal of Central High School, said Schaffner is iconic.

"We call him 'maestro,'" Cowan said. "Someone with his musical knowledge and history won't be replaced easily."

When it comes to musical knowledge, Schaffner said his begins with Elvis Presley.

"I got into music because of Elvis," he said. "I took up the guitar and started to take music seriously."

Schaffner said his love of music led him to play the violin -- or "fiddle" as he sometimes calls the instrument -- in the Central Junior High orchestra.

"I was inspired to play the violin by Mack Magaha, who used to play on 'The Porter Waggoner Show,'" he said.

Schaffner continued to play violin and also bass in the Central Senior High School orchestra until he graduated in 1977. He then enrolled at Southeast Missouri State University as a music major, but lasted only one semester.

"I really majored in beer and cigarettes," he said. "I wanted to be playing out on the road."

Schaffner left college and relocated to Nashville, Tenn., where his violin and guitar skills landed him in a band that backed up country singer and Southeast Missouri-native Narvel Felts, who was enjoying a wave of popularity at the time.

"That lasted about two years," Schaffner said. "I quit the road and wound up in Augusta, Ga., and married my wife, Linda."

Schaffner also went back to school, enrolling at Augusta College while he continued to play gigs on the side. When he received his bachelor of music education degree in 1986, Schaffner's first teaching job was at Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School in Augusta.

"It was a half-day job teaching the orchestra," he said. "But the job grew, and the orchestra went from 32 students to 130 in five years."

Schaffner might still be teaching in Augusta if it weren't for a phone call he received in 1991 from Mel Gilhaus, the director from his days in the junior high and high school orchestras, who was set to retire from teaching.

"I had stayed in touch with Mel over the years for advice," Schaffner said. "He wanted to know if I'd like to come back and direct the orchestras in the Cape schools. I wanted to, but what I was most concerned with was maintaining what Mel had already put in place."

Twenty-two years later, nobody has accused Schaffner of not living up to the job.

In 2003 he received the Edna C. Kinder Excellence in Education Award, and he was honored by the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce as the 2006 Educator of the Year. He was a member of the Southeast Missouri Symphony's China Tour in 2009, and also performs with the Paducah [Ky.] Symphony Orchestra. Schaffner also earned his master of music education degree from Southeast, and he continues to play country music with his band Manitou in the Cape Girardeau area.

On April 15, Schaffner participated in the Boston Marathon, the annual 26.2-mile run that was marred by a pair of explosions that killed three people and wounded more than 200 others. It was the first time he had run in the marathon, and he said he felt nothing but positive "vibes" throughout, finishing with a time of three hours, 27 minutes and 48 seconds.

"I finished maybe 30 minutes before the bombs went off," he said. "I went straight to my hotel and then to the airport to catch my flight. I didn't know anything had happened until a friend texted me at the airport to see if I was OK."

Schaffner said he was unsure if he would return to Boston for another marathon run during his retirement, but he is planning to work with the Paducah Youth Symphony on Sunday afternoons.

"I've been real blessed to direct students for as long as I have," he said. "We have a lot of support from the schools and from the community. I'm really going to miss it."

klewis@semissourian.com

388-3626

Pertinent address:

1000 S. Silver Springs Road, Cape Girardeau, Mo.