Commissioned by a consortium of performers and educators organized by John Kilkenny and Daniel Heagney, "Songs of the Human Spirit" is grouped into three sections of five solos each — Marimba+Marimba, Vibraphone+Vibraphone, and Vibraphone+Marimba. Each solo ranges in duration from 2 to 3 minutes and utilizes two or four mallets or, in the case of the vibraphone duet “Loneliness,” a bass bow plus two mallets. Instead of attempting to create a sequential etude book, I aimed to provide a varied musical experience from solo to solo, exploring different techniques (percussive & compositional), moods/emotions, and ensemble challenges.

To give even more cohesiveness to the collection, I added titles to each solo, taken from the brilliant collection of essays “Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words” by David Whyte. I encourage you to pick up this book and absorb his poetic thoughts, if only to reflect on what it is to be human.

Songs of the Human Spirit: 15 Intermediate Duets for Keyboard Percussion

Besieged (from 'Songs of the Human Spirit') - Nathan Daughtrey

Ambition (from 'Songs of the Human Spirit') - Nathan Daughtrey

Crisis (from 'Songs of the Human Spirit') - Nathan Daughtrey

Disappointment (from 'Songs of the Human Spirit') - Nathan Daughtrey

Loneliness (from 'Songs of the Human Spirit') - Nathan Daughtrey

Longing (from 'Songs of the Human Spirit') - Nathan Daughtrey

Regret (from 'Songs of the Human Spirit') - Nathan Daughtrey

Gratitude (from 'Songs of the Human Spirit') - Nathan Daughtrey

Haunted (from 'Songs of the Human Spirit') - Nathan Daughtrey

Beauty (from 'Songs of the Human Spirit') - Nathan Daughtrey

Nostalgia (from 'Songs of the Human Spirit') - Nathan Daughtrey

Unrequited (from 'Songs of the Human Spirit') - Nathan Daughtrey

Vulnerability (from 'Songs of the Human Spirit') - Nathan Daughtrey

Joy (from 'Songs of the Human Spirit') - Nathan Daughtrey

Forgiveness (from 'Songs of the Human Spirit') - Nathan Daughtrey

Percussionist, composer, & educator Nathan Daughtrey (b. 1975) is a musical chameleon who uses his wide-ranging talents to adapt comfortably to a variety of environments. As a performing artist and clinician for Yamaha percussion, Vic Firth sticks & mallets, Zildjian cymbals, and Black Swamp accessories, he has performed and given masterclasses and clinics throughout the United States and across three continents. Nathan has recorded two solo marimba albums to date – "Spiral Passages" and "The Yuletide Marimba" – as well as several chamber music albums, including a recent collaboration with euphoniumist Brian Meixner titled "Praxis."

With over 60 publications for percussion ensemble, concert band, orchestra, chamber ensembles, and soloists as well as an ever-growing number of commissions, Nathan balances his performing with composing, and to great acclaim. He is the only composer in the history of the Percussive Arts Society International Composition Contest to procure both 2nd and 3rd place in the same year with his percussion ensemble works "Limerick Daydreams" and "Adaptation," respectively. Nathan's compositions appear regularly on performances at PASIC, the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, the Bands of America National Percussion Festival, and in concert halls and other performance venues around the world. His works have also been recorded on several albums by respected performers, including the FSU Percussion Ensemble, the Showa Wind Symphony conducted by Ray Cramer, the RoseWind Duo, and Mississippi State University. Additionally, three of his compositions for wind ensemble have been featured in three volumes of "Teaching Music Through Performance in Band."

As an educator, Nathan served as a Visiting Lecturer of Percussion for three years at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he taught applied percussion and conducted the Percussion Ensemble. He also served as a sabbatical replacement at the University of Oklahoma, where he taught undergraduate and graduate percussion students and conducted the world-renowned OU Percussion Orchestra. Dr. Daughtrey is currently a Visiting Lecturer of Percussion and Music Composition at High Point University (NC), where he teaches applied lessons, directs the percussion ensemble and works in collaboration with the School of Communication and Department of Dance.

Nathan remains active within the Percussive Arts Society serving as a member of the Composition Contest Committee, organizing the PASIC Fun Runs on behalf of the Health and Wellness Committee, and editing the keyboard percussion articles for Percussive Notes.