Gospel 'balances' lives of composers

May 2024 ยท 7 minute read

It was a crush on a classmate that actually got Kurt Bestor started in his career - a career that has already garnered the young composer an Emmy award, three albums, and several stints scoring music for motion pictures.

"When I was in the seventh grade, I wrote a song for this girl named Colette," Bestor remembered. "It was so bad, I don't think she's been the same since."Although that first composition may have been terrible by his own admission, Bestor's talents improved as the young student began writing compositions for the Orem (Utah) High School stage band, concert band, and choir.

It was also during high school in the mid-1970s that Bestor, now 31, decided to make music his career.

"I went to a movie one day and, as I was sitting there, it suddenly occurred to me that someone was making money writing music for that film, " he explained. "I don't even remember what the movie was, but at the time I determined that I was going to write music for film."

And that's what Bestor, a member of the Provo (Utah) Edgemont 1st Ward, does.

He already has film scores for several movies tucked under his belt, including four Disney Channel children's films; BYU's latest motion picture, A More Perfect Union; and several made-for-television movies. He is currently scoring a feature-length film for Disney titled The Witching of Ben Wagner.

In between composing for films, Bestor keeps busy writing and arranging music for other projects. Some of the credits he's racked up include creation and production of themes for several ABC sports programs, promo music for some network series, and an Emmy for more than three hours of music written with writing partner and fellow BYU alumni Sam Cardon for ABC's coverage of the 1988 Winter Olympics.

In addition, Bestor has written and arranged three albums of his own compositions.

Two of those albums, Joyspring and Joyspring II, are what Bestor calls "LDS music," although he points out that he tries to follow the Spirit when working on any of his many projects.

"Music is so powerful in what it can do," Bestor noted. "You can see evidence of that all over. I want to use the power of music to lift people. So when I write, I always pray to make sure that I don't abuse that power."

When Bestor writes or arranges music, he thinks visually, trying to paint pictures and evoke emotions through the notes.

"I try to think of the feeling I'm trying to communicate, rather than the actual musical notes," he explained. "I feel that that is what music really is - pure communication."

Although music has always been a part of Bestor's life, the gospel hasn't. The Bestor family lived for 10 years in Orem, Utah, before joining the Church in 1976.

"It just took a while for the gospel to sink in, I guess," remarked Bestor, who later served a mission in the Austria Vienna Mission."But we finally realized as a family that if we wanted to live together forever, we needed to join the Church. Besides, we were already living the lives of Mormons, except for going skiing on Sunday. And there are shorter lift lines during the week anyway."

It takes only a few moments of conversation with Bestor before one realizes that the man is blessed with a rich sense of humor. It is this sense of humor, coupled with his testimony, that has helped him attain a healthy and eternal list of priorities.

"My family and the Church are the most important things in my life," he explained. "My music takes a third position after those things. My wife (the former Melodie Lynn Bae) and my two little daughters constantly remind me of just exactly why I'm here.

"You don't take anything with you when you go - no albums, no movies. Just your relationships and your knowledge. If I were to have a personal priesthood interview with the Savior, He wouldn't ask me to play my latest jingle or my newest film track. He'd ask me about the things that are really important. He'd ask me about my family and my testimony."

(ADDITIONAL STORY)

Lifetime of family's support key to success in music career

An investment made by two of Sam Cardon's older brothers has paid off big dividends for the young composer.

The investment consisted of paying for Cardon's first professional recording session in 1981 and, unbeknown to Cardon at the time, his brothers charged it on their credit cards.

"They were both living in Washington D.C. and I thought they were fabulously wealthy," recalled Cardon, a member of the Orem (Utah) 89th Ward. "It wasn't until about four or five years later that I found out they funded the whole session on their credit cards."

But the experience he gained in that first session has been crucial to Cardon's career, a career that has included an album, Impulse, which was recently honored by "Radio and Records" magazine as one of the top albums of 1989.

In addition to the Impulse album, Cardon has a long list of other successes that have followed that first recording session.

The 33-year-old Farmington, N.M., native has received a New York Art Director's Award for his promotional music for NBC's Crime Story. He has also composed and arranged the music for several network television sports programs, as well as arranged music for a number of recording artists; and he, along with fellow composer and BYU alumni, Kurt Bestor, was awarded an Emmy for original scoring for ABC's coverage of the 1988 Winter Olympics.

But, in Cardon's eyes, the biggest dividend from that first recording session was what it symbolized - the complete support he has always received from his family.

"I really am who I am today because of the tremendous family I have," Cardon explained.

The seventh of eight children, Cardon began his musical career early. At age 4, he was immediately enrolled in piano lessons when his mother heard him playing pieces that his sister had been practicing on the piano. Several years of classical training followed, but in high school, Cardon stumbled onto jazz music that "blew me away."

Cardon immediately started a high school jazz ensemble and even persuaded the principal to let him teach a class. "There was really no one on the faculty who knew much about that kind of music," he explained. "I would go home, listen to an album and chart out the parts for the stage band." Thus, an arranger was born.

Cardon took two years out of his musical career to serve a mission in Italy. Although he came back a little rusty in terms of musical technique, it was on his mission that Cardon gained the growth, maturity and perspective that he credits for the success he's experienced so far in life.

"I really feel a sense of mission in what I do," Cardon observed. "I feel I've been given this talent for a reason and therefore, I'm selective about what I do. I try to make sure that my work is always uplifting."

Cardon points out that the most fulfilling work he's done has been for the Church. He has been involved in various capacities with the Homefront Series, produced by Bonneville Media, and with the missionary video, Together Forever. He also co-wrote the music for Nora's Christmas Gift, a Church film released in 1989.

He tries to involve the Lord in all the work he does, not just Church projects. "Even though I don't think the Lord necessarily cares that I do music for Monday night football, that doesn't mean I don't seek His direction. We're told to pray over our flocks and over our fields. Well, I don't have flocks and fields, so I pray over my work."

Another thing that Cardon prays over is his family, which continues to support him. The family has grown over the years to include his wife, Tammy, three children and "one on the way."

"My family has really sacrificed a lot for me to be in this business," Cardon noted. "There are still periods of intensity, but we really enjoy a nice family life now. My wife and the gospel keep me balanced."

Plans for the future include another album, due out in March. "I haven't written a single note of it yet," Cardon admitted. "It's like a blank canvas in front of me. But I like that feeling, a feeling of challenge and adventure. A feeling of excitement."

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