Nathanael Davidson

Nathanael Arthur Davidson passed away after a long illness on July 17, 2025 at Baylor, Scott & White Medical Center in Irving. He was 64.

The son of college professors James and Norma Davidson, he was born in Denton, Texas at Flow Memorial Hospital to a life surrounded by music. His mother was an excellent violinist and composer, while his father was an enthusiastic amateur pianist, and the two often performed together as a duo. It was in this atmosphere that he began his musical journey with his first studies in piano and violin as he began public school.

His musical talent was apparent as he began to perform in local rock bands from middle school through high school, such as Obsidian Glass, The Idol, and Joe City. Toward the end of high school, he and most of the original members of Joe City formed a new band known as the Molly Maguires, which quickly grew beyond its local Denton roots to an outstanding regional band that released the self-produced album Deal With It. While his primary focus was as a keyboardist, he also demonstrated his equally impressive talent as a violinist with performances on electric violin and violectra as well. During this time, he also provided vocals and was an accomplished guitarist, drummer, and songwriter. Still, he considered his keyboard work to be his signature achievement, and particularly that work which exploited the then-new digital instrument interfaces and reproduction technologies of the 1980s and beyond.

As various stresses eventually caused the breakup of the Molly Maguires, he turned again to music, beginning an apprenticeship as a piano technician at the University of North Texas School of Music. Upon completion of his apprenticeship, he took a position with the prestigious Steinway & Sons piano company at Steinway Hall in Dallas. During his career as a piano technician, he continued working with the latest technology in the form of PianoDisc systems (now known as Spirio)-a groundbreaking microprocessor-controlled player piano system that was capable of recording as well as reproducing the mechanics of actual piano performances. This, combined with his authoritative knowledge of the old-world techniques of traditional piano manufacture and servicing, ultimately made him an in-demand and respected technician throughout Texas.

Eventually, he moved on from Steinway Hall to Dallas Piano to be closer to his home in Richardson, where he continued working in both the traditional servicing and maintenance of pianos to the installation of PianoDisc and other digital piano systems. He also continued his performance activities with the successful Dallas band, Chapter 11.

Despite his embrace of the expansion of piano and keyboard technology, he never stopped performing, composing, and recording. Technology was his way into the core of the musical experience, which remained closest to his heart throughout his life.

He is survived by his brother, Kevin Davidson, of Joshua Tree, California, his daughter, Tara Stone, of Joshua, Texas, and his two granddaughters, Lucy and Laney Stone.