Kurt Bestor
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Kurt Bestor (born February 22, 1958) is an American keyboardist and composer specializing in
new-age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consid ...
, orchestral arrangements,film scores, and jazz. He is known for his instrumental Christmas arrangements. His best-known song is "Prayer of the Children” - a choral composition dedicated to child victims of war. He is also known for composing music for the 1993 movie ''
Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...
'', and for writing music for the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics and 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games, where he composed and conducted music for the Closing Ceremonies. With over 25 albums of his own, Bestor also arranges music for other notable artists including violinists
Caroline Campbell Caroline Campbell is an American violinist. She is a soloist and chamber musician who performs and records classical, jazz, film and popular music. Early life Campbell was born in Albany, New York, and grew up in Hawaii, Nevada, and norther ...
and
Jenny Oaks Baker Jenny Oaks Baker (born Jenny June Oaks; May 27, 1975) is an American violinist. She has been nominated for a Grammy Award, and is a former member of the National Symphony Orchestra. Baker has released eighteen studio albums, several of which have ...
, award-winning vocalists
Jennifer Warnes Jennifer Jean Warnes (born March 3, 1947) is an American singer and songwriter who has performed as a vocalist on a number of film soundtracks. She has won two Grammy Awards, in 1983 for the Joe Cocker duet " Up Where We Belong", and in 1987 fo ...
and
Melissa Manchester Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been played by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage. Early li ...
, and popular classical-crossover cellist Stjepan
Hauser Hauser is a German-language surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Arnold Hauser (shortstop), Arnold George Hauser (1888–1966), American baseball player * Arnold Hauser (art historian) (1892–1978), Hungarian art historian * Bodo ...
. His arrangements have also been sung by the
Mormon Tabernacle Choir The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, formerly known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, is an American choir affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It has performed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle for o ...
, Harlem Boys Choir, and iconic rock group
Three Dog Night Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, founded by vocalists Chuck Negron, Cory Wells, and Danny Hutton. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael Allsup (guitar), and Floyd Sn ...
. A longtime
Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
resident, Bestor plays concerts in Salt Lake City and throughout the Western states.


Childhood years

Kurt Bestor was born in 1958 in
Waukesha, Wisconsin Waukesha ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 71,158 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River adjacent to th ...
. He took piano lessons from his mother as a child from the age of 7. His grandpa (on his father’s side) played the trumpet in Western Big bands and his great uncle played the trombone in
Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky; February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success as a violinist on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century with ...
's band. Later on Kurt Bestor and his family moved to
Orem, Utah Orem is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, in the northern part of the state. It is adjacent to Provo, Utah, Provo, Lindon, Utah, Lindon, and Vineyard, Utah, Vineyard and is approximately south of Salt Lake City. Orem is one of the pri ...
in 1966, where he attended
Orem High School Orem High School is a high school in Orem, Utah, part of the Alpine School District. It was originally built in 1956, and has since undergone major renovations. The old school building was torn down and a replacement was built in what was the fo ...
and learned how to play the
trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...
. When Bestor watched the 1975 film ''
Jaws Jaws or Jaw can refer to: Anatomy * Jaw, an opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth ** Mandible, the lower jaw Arts, entertainment, and media * Jaws (James Bond), a character in ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' and ''Moonraker'' ...
'', he later recalled "I knew that's what I wanted to do when I saw ''Jaws'' during high school and realized that someone made money scoring music for this iconic film. I have made a goal to score films ever since." He decided to compose soundtracks for movies which he went on to do for '' The Buttercream Gang'' and ''
Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...
.'' He was also greatly influenced by classical composers, most notably Aaron Copland, Edward Elgar, Claude Debussy, and Johann Sebastian Bach. Among living composers, Bestor cites
John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...
and
Dave Grusin Robert David Grusin (born June 26, 1934) is an American composer, arranger, producer, jazz pianist, and band leader. He has composed many scores for feature films and television and has won numerous awards for his soundtrack and record work, incl ...
as his biggest influences.


College years

In 1976 Bestor and his family joined
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
. He later went on a two-year religious mission in
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
, where he observed social problems such as homelessness, war,and poverty. The Yugoslav Civil War of the 1990s would later inspire his iconic song "Prayer of the Children." After his mission, Bestor married his first wife Melodie Bae. Bestor attended
Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...
to write his songs for student projects, and also attended as a composing fellow,
Sundance Institute Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by actor Robert Redford committed to the growth of independent artists. The institute is driven by its programs that discover and support independent filmmakers, theatre artists and compo ...
's composer lab. He ultimately dropped out of
Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...
college to pursue a full-time musical career but was later awarded a degree in Music Composition with an emphasis is Studio Composition.


Music career (1980-today)

In his early 20s, Kurt began working as a trumpet player and arranger at the Osmond TV Studios in Orem, Utah. He performed for a number of TV shows, TV specials, and early productions of the "Children's Miracle Network Telethon." He also provided arrangements for these productions. Also, during this time, Kurt and his colleague Sam Cardon were hired to compose and produce a large library of commercial jingles. This provided Kurt his first opportunity to create and arrange a large amount of music on a deadline, which would help him greatly as he later pursued his film scoring career. Bestor was awarded an Emmy for his collaboration with Sam Cardon on the original music for ABC's coverage of the 1988 Winter Olympics. This provided his first record company "Airus Records" to encourage Kurt to produce his first Christmas album. In the fall of 1988, Kurt Bestor released ''An Airus Christmas Volume 1'' on cassette and CD. It was a career success for Bestor, and spawned his first live Christmas concert, held at Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City. Kurt Bestor's Christmas music received national radio airplay in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and continues to be heard today during seasonal broadcast periods. He later went on to release ''Joyspring'', ''Seasons'', ''Evening Angels'', ''An Airus Christmas Volume 2'', and ''Innovators'' which featured Kurt's best-known composition "Prayer of the Children". He also released ''Noel Christmas Volume 3'' and the album ''Sketches'' with the song ''Mama Don't You Weep''. He also created film music for
LDS Church The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian restorationist Christian denomination and the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. Founded during ...
videos, and composed the soundtrack for the 1993 movie ''Rigoletto'' and the 2000 cartoon movie "The Scarecrow". Kurt also composed for albums such as ''Innovators II'' and composed music for the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympics. Kurt Bestor still performs his "Kurt Bestor Christmas" Concerts, held now at the Eccles Theatre in Salt Lake City. In December 2018, Kurt completed his 31st consecutive year of these performances. He also performs a series of concerts each year over the Christmas holidays at the Egyptian Theater in Park City, Utah. In 2014, Bestor released his first music video to accompany his song "Baroque Coco" from his album, ''Kurt Bestor and the Collective; Outside the Lines.''


Personal life

Bestor's 20-year marriage to first wife Melodie ended in 1999, and a second marriage ended in 2001 after just a few months. Balancing career obligations with family duties became difficult and created distance between Bestor and his children, Kristin and Erika, both of whom were born with
spina bifida Spina bifida (SB; ; Latin for 'split spine') is a birth defect in which there is incomplete closing of the vertebral column, spine and the meninges, membranes around the spinal cord during embryonic development, early development in pregnancy. T ...
, a spinal defect that causes partial paralysis and other disabilities. In January 2003, Bestor married Petrina, a Kenyan-born safari consultant who moved to Utah after serving as an assistant to Robert Redford on the set of ''
Out of Africa ''Out of Africa'' is a memoir by the Danish people, Danish author Karen Blixen. The book, first published in 1937, recounts events of the eighteen years when Blixen made her home in Kenya, then called East Africa Protectorate, British East Africa ...
''.


Discography


Albums

*1988: ''Joyspring'' *1989: ''Seasons'' *1990: ''Joyspring II'' *1993: ''Innovators'' *1994: ''Evening Angels'' *1996: ''Timpanogos - A Prayer for Mountain Grace / Utah: 5 Sacred Lessons'' *1997: ''Sketches'' *1998: ''Fathers'' *1999: ''The Dance'' *2002: ''Innovators II'' *2005: ''A Life'' (ep) *2014: ''Outside the Lines''


Christmas albums

*1988: ''An Airus Christmas volume 1 (later known as Kurt Bestor Christmas volume 1 in 1996)'' *1991: ''An Airus Christmas volume 2 (later known as Kurt Bestor Christmas volume 2 in 1996)'' *1995: ''Christmas (later known as Noel in 1997)'' *1999: ''One Silent Night'' *2002: ''A Kurt Bestor Christmas - By Request'' *2016: ''Comes a Christmas Morning'' *2020: ''Christmas Time Is Here''


Soundtracks and scores

*1989: A More Perfect Union: America Becomes a Nation *1990: The Witching of Ben Wagner *1991: ''In Your Wildest Dreams'' *1991: ''The Seventh Brother'' *1992: Split Infinity *1992: ''The Buttercream Gang'' *1993: ''Rigoletto'' *1993: The Buttercream Gang in Secret of Treasure Mountain *1995: ''Behind the Waterfall'' *1995: ''Unspoken Song - A Celebration of 100 Years of Utah Spirit'' (with Sam Cardon) *1995: ''UTAH - Musical Spectacular'' (with Sam Cardon) *1998: ''Sedona - Spirit of Wonder'' *1998: No More Baths *1998: The Ghost of Dickens past *1999: New Testament soundtrack *1999: Book of Mormon soundtrack *1999: Doctrine and Covenants soundtrack *2000: The Scarecrow *2000: ''The Lamb of God / Passion of the Lamb'' *2001: ''Saints of the Seas'' *2008: ''The Great American West''


References


Sources



Kurt Bestors official website. *

Chasing his muse has given him much turmoil.

How composer Kurt Bestor found his own Christmas groove

Kurt Bestors Biography at Famous Mormons website.

Kurt Bestor goes multimedia with his first music video. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bestor, Kurt 1958 births Living people Latter Day Saints from Wisconsin American jazz composers American male jazz composers Converts to Mormonism Latter Day Saints from Utah