Kurt Bestor

Childhood years

Kurt Bestor came into the world in 1958 in Waukesha, Wisconsin. At seven, his mother started teaching him piano. Music ran in the family: his dad's father played trumpet in Western big bands, and a great uncle played trombone for Jack Benny's band. In 1966, the Bestors relocated to Orem, Utah, where he attended high school and picked up the trumpet. Watching the 1975 movie Jaws during those years made him set his sights on scoring films. He drew inspiration from classical greats like Aaron Copland, Edward Elgar, Claude Debussy, and Johann Sebastian Bach, plus living composers John Williams and Dave Grusin.

College years

In 1976 Bestor and his family joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served a two-year religious mission in Yugoslavia, where he observed social problems such as homelessness, war, and poverty; the Yugoslav Civil War later inspired his song "Prayer of the Children." After his mission he married Melodie Bae. Bestor attended Brigham Young University and the Sundance Institute's composer lab, but dropped out to pursue a full-time career; he was later awarded a degree in Music Composition with an emphasis in Studio Composition.

Music career (1980-today)

In his early 20s, Bestor worked as a trumpet player and arranger at the Osmond TV Studios in Orem, Utah, performing for TV shows, specials, and early Children's Miracle Network Telethon productions. With colleague Sam Cardon, he composed and produced a large library of commercial jingles. He won an Emmy for his collaboration with Cardon on ABC's coverage of the 1988 Winter Olympics, which led to his first record company, Airus Records, encouraging him to produce his first Christmas album.

In fall 1988 he released An Airus Christmas Volume 1, which became a career success and spawned his first live Christmas concert at Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City. He later released albums including Joyspring, Seasons, Evening Angels, An Airus Christmas Volume 2, and Innovators, which featured "Prayer of the Children. He also released Noel Christmas Volume 3 and Sketches with the song "Mama Don't You Weep. Bestor composed film music for LDS Church videos, the 1993 movie Rigoletto, and the 2000 cartoon movie The Scarecrow.

He composed for albums such as Innovators II and music for the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympics. He continues to perform his "Kurt Bestor Christmas" concerts at the Eccles Theatre in Salt Lake City, completing his 31st consecutive year in December 2018, and also performs at the Egyptian Theater in Park City, Utah. In 2014 he released his first music video for "Baroque Coco" from his album Kurt Bestor and the Collective; Outside the Lines.

Personal life

Bestor was married to his first wife, Melodie, for two decades before they split in 1999. A second marriage ended after only a few months in 2001. His daughters, Kristin and Erika, were born with spina bifida. He wed Petrina in January 2003; she is a Kenyan-born safari consultant who came to Utah after working as Robert Redford’s assistant on Out of Africa.