Daughtrey composes solo, chamber, and large ensemble works for both acoustic and electroacoustic instrumentation across all difficulty levels.
Trained as a classical percussionist, Daughtrey focuses his performance primarily on keyboard percussion instruments, especially the marimba and vibraphone.
In January 2020, Daughtrey took over as President of C. Alan Publications after working for the company and ascending the ranks for 20+ years.
Commissioned by Chris Dial and the Elkins High School Percussion Ensemble (Sugar Land, Texas) for performance at the 2025 Midwest Clinic, A WORLD IN US is a celebration of friendship. The exciting 5-1/2 minute work takes its title from the following quote from The Diary of Anaïs Nin:
“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.”
Medium: Percussion Ensemble (14-16)
Publisher: C. Alan Publications
Composed: 2025
Duration: 5:30
Difficulty: Medium Advanced
Commission: Elkins High School Percussion Ensemble (TX)
Inspired by David Whyte's poem of the same name, Everything is Waiting for You tackles the topic of loneliness. Whyte starts the poem pointedly by writing, "Your great mistake is to act the drama as if you were alone." As the poem progresses, it feels lighter and more uplifting, ending with "Put down the weight of your aloneness and ease into the conversation. All the birds and creatures of the world are unutterably themselves. Everything is waiting for you."
Medium: Solo Marimba (4.3-octave, optional 4.5-octave)
Publisher: C. Alan Publications
Composed: 2026
Duration: 4:00
Difficulty: Intermediate
Dedicated to the composer’s eleven-year-old niece and her middle school concert band, Hop! is meant to capture the spirit of youthful exuberance through percussive syncopation, hints of jazz, and memorable, toe-tapping melodies.
Medium: 6-Part Flex Band
Publisher: C. Alan Publications
Composed: 2026
Duration: 3:15
Difficulty: Grade 2.5
Commissioned by Ben Bruggemeier and the Ferris High School Percussion Ensemble (Spokane, WA), IN THE SHADOW OF GIANTS is an 11-minute celebration of 4 mountain peaks in the Pacific Northwest – Mt. Rainier (The Beast), Mt. St. Helens (The Lady of Fire), Mt. Adam (Sleeping Beauty), and Mt. Hood (Retreat).
Medium: Percussion Ensemble (14-16)
Publisher: C. Alan Publications
Composed: 2025
Duration: 11:00
Difficulty: Medium Advanced
Commission: Ferris High School Percussion Ensemble (WA)
MARIMBA SKETCHES, VOL. 1 is a collection of five 2-mallet marimba solos with piano accompaniment. Each is an arrangement of one of Nathan Daughtrey's popular percussion ensemble works. These bite-sized pieces for 4-octave instrument span a myriad of styles, techniques, moods, and tempi, so they are appropriate for any number of performance situations – from lessons to studio classes to recitals.
Medium: Solo 2-mallet Marimba with Piano Accompaniment
Publisher: C. Alan Publications
Composed: 2026
Duration: 14:30 total
Difficulty: Medium Easy to Intermediate
MARIMBA SKETCHES, VOL. 2 is a collection of five 2-mallet marimba solos with piano accompaniment. Each is an arrangement of one of Nathan Daughtrey's popular percussion ensemble works. These bite-sized pieces for 4.3-octave instrument span a myriad of styles, techniques, moods, and tempi, so they are appropriate for any number of performance situations – from lessons to studio classes to recitals.
Medium: Solo 2-mallet Marimba with Piano Accompaniment
Publisher: C. Alan Publications
Composed: 2026
Duration: 17:30 total
Difficulty: Medium Easy to Intermediate
Commissioned by Adam Kollipara and the Northville High School Percussion Ensemble (Northville, Michigan), NORTH STAR takes inspiration more from the phrase's symbolic meaning than from its astronomical one. For centuries, it has served as a guiding principle, providing stability, direction, and inspiration in life. This can come in many forms, such as an educator, religious leader, a therapist, a guru, but it can also simply come from within an individual as they seek to find purpose in the world.
Medium: Percussion Ensemble (8) + Piano
Publisher: C. Alan Publications
Composed: 2026
Duration: 6:20
Difficulty: Intermediate
Commission: Northville High School Percussion Ensemble (MI)
Written for the April 2016 issue of Rhythm! Scene (A free online Percussive Arts Society magazine), Spring Falls paints a musical portrait of the change of season from winter to spring, as the flowers begin to bloom from the recently frozen ground. As such, the solo is filled with ascending and descending figures that require the performer to move gracefully around the instrument.
Medium: Solo 2-mallet Marimba (4-octave)
Publisher: NathanDaughtrey.com
Composed: 2016
Duration: 1:45
Difficulty: Medium Easy