When the WMFA board requested me to write a musical tribute to Patricia (Pat) Schaefer, I asked her husband, Jack, about her ancestry. “Scottish and Czech,” he replied. “Ye Banks and Braes O’Bonnie Doon” has long been a favorite folk tune for me. Banks and braes are types of shores; Doon is both a Scottish river and a lake.
The theme is accompanied with a bagpipe style. This changes to fluid chord clusters in the first variation. Because I originally knew Pat for her piccolo playing in the Kalamazoo Symphony, the piccolo obligato in the second variation floats above the other flutes, her spirit still present with us. The third variation is a vigorous trio for contra, bass and alto flutes. In the final variation I used a background of rippling 16th notes similar to Smetana’s “The Moldau” to suggest her Czech heritage.
The premier of “Reflections of Bonnie Doon” was presented on August 14, 2005 at the San Diego NFA convention by the National High School Flute Orchestra, directed by Nancy L. Spidel. The West Michigan Flute Orchestra has recorded it for an album entitled Michigan Flute Legends.
-Darlene Dugan
It is scored for piccolo, 3 C flutes, alto, bass and contra bass flute. For the flute choir not having a contra bass flute, alternate parts for bassoon/cello, bass clarinet and string bass are included.
