On the road to music ministry and more

An 18-year-old freshman at Northwest Florida State College, Destin’s Nathan Fife has performed since he was a child.

“I’ve been playing the piano as long as I can remember, since I was a small child,” Fife told The Log. “I started singing and playing around age 10 or so. I sing and play piano primarily. I’m learning the drums and the guitar, and I’ve started to play by ear on these as well.”

Fife taught himself to play the piano by ear and sing until he joined his church praise team where he learned how to play with a band.

“My playing and singing were revealed in freshman year of high school at FWBHS for the Striking Viking competition,” he said.

Throughout high school, Fife continued his music in the senior chorus, Valhalla, with Mary Jeter teaching him voice, instruction of a chorus, directing and music in general.

“The first song that I played and sang was ‘Praise You in This Storm’ by Casting Crowns,” Fife said. “This was actually the entire reason I really got into singing. I played that song for Mary Jeter as a preview of my talent for the Striking Viking competition and she asked me to join Valhalla.”

While in Valhalla, Fife became an assistant director, instructor and the president of chorus as well as starting a Glee Club. He also won a Fort Walton Beach High School Talent Competition singing Michael Bublé’s “Everything” and plans to now enter NWFSC’s competitions where scholarships are awarded.

Currently in his freshman year of college, Fife is in his second year with NWFSC Madrigals, Soundsations Show Choir, and a student run a capella group. His current studies include voice, piano, dancing and acting.

As a member of Soundsations, Fife will perform Oct. 19 at the Mullet Festival in Niceville.

“This year we’re performing pop music like the TV show ‘Glee,’” Fife said. “It’s going to be a great year. There’s a lot of talent in our groups and we aim to impress.”

Fife is currently working on establishing a student run Glee/Flash Mob Club at NWFSC, with a goal of attracting students to the arts center and helping them find talents they may not know they possess.

Goals, ministry

When not busy practicing or studying, Fife writes and records music in the sound room/recording studio he built at home with his father.

“I aspire to become famous with my closest college friends by recording our original songs and uploading them onto YouTube using my studio and equipment. We want to be the next Pentatonix (an a cappella group of five vocalists). We have high hopes for our songs and want to one day hear them on the radio or perform them live. I also plan to soon start a recording business called Destin Recording for local artists looking to get their start and a demo without emptying their life savings.”

Eventually, Fife would like to start a Christian music ministry on the Emerald Coast that would encourage people to write, sing and play worship songs. He hopes this would bring together many from different church groups around the area who usually don’t collaborate.

“I feel like Destin could really use something to bring God’s people together,” he said. “I think God is pulling me to the music ministry and I’m ecstatic to see exactly where he takes me. My music is my life. I love what God has given me.”