The Light You Bring by Nathan Daughtrey

The Light You Bring is an intermediate 4-mallet solo for low-A marimba based around a short poem of the same title by Kai Skye:

“when you step in to the thing you are,
the world does not burn, but glows
more brightly with the light you bring.” 

The thematic material was borrowed from Nathan’s large percussion ensemble work The Heroes Around Us, which was commissioned by the Mt. Lebanon Percussion Program (PA) in celebration of their 40th anniversary. The piece begins with a sonorous chord progression that encourages the player and listener to breathe deeply in and out. What follows is several presentations of the main “light” theme, which alternates with the “breathing” theme, always inviting the performer to ground themselves before moving forward.