Medium Easy
INSTRUMENTATION
Percussion 1 (bells, xylophone)
Percussion 2 (vibraphone)
Percussion 3 (marimba (4.3 octaves))
Percussion 4 (marimba (shared w/Percussion 3), bass drum)
Percussion 5 (tam-tam, snare drum, suspended cymbal)
Percussion 6 (4 concert toms, suspended cymbal)
Percussion 7 (4 timpani)
PROGRAM NOTE
Featuring a balanced ensemble of keyboard and battery percussion, Mercury Rising is, in essence, a double fugue that gives all players the opportunity to shine. After a brief anticipatory introduction, the tempo picks up and the keyboard percussion introduces the primary fugue theme (or subject), with entries by the marimba, the xylophone, and then the vibraphone. The battery joins the excitement before taking over the fugue subject, featuring the snare drum and concert toms. By the time the timpani takes over the subject, all members of the ensemble have entered leading to a climactic explosion at m. 72. After a brief developmental 3/4 section, in which fragments of the fugue subject are strewn about the ensemble, intensity continues to build to the end of the piece, as the theme appears in its loudest and fastest presentation yet.
ABOUT THE COMPOSER
Composer and percussionist Nathan Daughtrey (b. 1975) has distinguished himself in recent years as an artist of great range. Described as “fresh and imaginative” (Percussive Notes) and “evocatively crafted” (IU Herald Times), his works have been performed by individuals and ensembles of all levels at festivals and venues around the world, including the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, the International Double Reed Society Conference, and the Midwest Band & Orchestra Clinic. With several awards to his credit, Dr. Daughtrey is the only composer to win 2nd and 3rd Place the same year in the Percussive Arts Society Composition Contest. He was also the recipient of a 2007 ASCAP Plus Award. With over 50 publications for percussion, concert band, and orchestra, he is in great demand for commissions and clinics.
Dr. Daughtrey is also extremely active and sought after as a solo marimba artist and clinician. His performances have taken him throughout the United States and overseas to Eastern Europe and Japan, appearing as featured soloist with orchestras such as the North Carolina Symphony and the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra. His first CD, “Spiral Passages,” was released in 2001 and features original and adapted works for solo and accompanied marimba. Other recent collaborative recordings include Emma Lou Diemer’s work “Concerto in One Movement for Marimba and Orchestra,” Michael Udow’s CD “Footprints,” and Daniel McCarthy’s CD “Song of Middle Earth.”
Dr. Daughtrey is a Performing Artist and Clinician for Yamaha Corporation and Vic Firth, Inc.
