Kurt Bestor wants to get high — and it has nothing to do with local cannabis laws.
The Utah musician and composer, famous for his Christmas extravaganzas, is launching a concert series called “Music in High Places,” to be performed in breathtaking natural and manmade locations.
The first is set for Sept. 7, 7:30 p.m., at the Center for the Arts at Kayenta, in Ivins, Utah. Bestor has played Christmas shows twice at Kayenta, but this will be the first time he’s played there “outdoors beneath the stunning red rocks that surround this art-loving community,” Bestor said in a statement.
“My musical love is really composing and performing songs that are inspired by uplifting and emotional things,” Bestor said. “Playing my songs in inspiring and ‘elevated’ places will invite the audience to tap into that same feeling that inspired the compositions in the first place.”
Other locations Bestor plans to perform in the series, which will continue next spring, include the top of the Snowbird ski resort and the Natural History Museum of Utah on Salt Lake City’s East Bench.
“I have always loved architecture and find the relationship between creatively architected buildings and music to be very close,” Bestor said. “I am looking forward to performing inside, in front and even on top of the world’s great edifices.”
Bestor will play some works solo on a grand piano. He also will play trumpet, harmonica and a variety of ethnic instruments. For other works, he will perform with a small ensemble, including an acoustic guitarist, violinist, an ethnic woodwind player and a string quartet.
The playlist of Bestor compositions will include: “On Pastel Wing,” dedicated to naturalist John J. Audubon; “Expedition,” inspired by explorer John Wesley Powell; and “Windrunner,” written about the Oglala Lakota runner Billy Mills.
Tickets to the Kayenta concert are on sale for $35 ($10 for children and students) at the Kayenta box office, 881 Coyote Gulch Road, Ivins — by calling 435-674-2787, or online at kayentaarts.com.
