Midlothian Madness for flute, oboe and percussion (2001).

Midlothian Madness was inspired by a 1999 visit to Scotland. Our band performed at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo (see photo below) in that year and, as chairman of the music department, I accompanied them to Scotland. During my weeks in Edinburgh I was struck by the atmosphere of the city. It was fun, funny, madcap. During that festival time, the Scots were "mad" in the best possible sense of the word. As I looked at Scottish folk music, I was struck by how many of the songs dealt with madness in a darker sense of the word. Senseless death, betrayal, insanity, are all topics for Scottish folksong. I decided to write a piece that portrayed both the fun and the dark side of the Scottish personality. Most of the folk melodies I chose were from the region right around Edinburgh—the Lothians. Thus the piece is titled Midlothian Madness. The work was written for Jeanne Belfy and was premiered at Boise State University in Idaho.

Midlothian Madness (excerpt), a complete recording is available at iTunes..