SALT LAKE CITY — Utah composer Kurt Bestor is well-known for his annual Christmas concerts, coming up December 14-16, 2023 at the Eccles Theater in downtown Salt Lake City. It’s a yearly tradition for many, and KSTU FOX 13 is a sponsor.
Bestor is also well-known for a particular song that has become iconic in the world of choral music.
“Prayer of the Children" is a stiffing and emotional anthem to the suffering of children who become victims of war, and 2023 is the 30th anniversary of the song.
“It seems like a long time ago, and yet it seems like yesterday,” said Bestor.
He explained it was the ravages of the war in Yugoslavia that tore at his heart.
“The song was written out of frustration,” Bestor reflected. “I had lived in Yugoslavia and now suddenly, that country was fighting and I didn't know what to do other than just sing about the innocent victims," he added.
The song sat on Bestor’s shelf for about a year before it got put into one of the live performances because, frankly, he needed more material in the show.
“The response was, so it was weird,” he said. “It was like the audience didn't applaud right away and I wasn't used to that. But I kind of thought I kind of got it,” he continued. “I thought, wow, that's even better than applause."
So he started performing it more often, building the song's reach and his legacy.
“When I perform the song, the emotions are right there and every time they're right there. I never don't feel those feelings, I always feel them," he said.
His audiences are also often touched by the deep emotions of the song, with some saying it's a "sacred experience."
“And it just doesn't seem appropriate to applaud. It's not for me. We're singing about children," he said.
The song would have remained a regional favorite, enjoyed only by Kurt Bestor audiences, if not for the late Weston Noble, famous in the world of choral music. He heard “Prayer of the Children” and started using it as he guest-conducted around the country.
"He spread it and he spread it and he spread it,” said Bestor. “And of course, you know, like social media and everything else in this proceeded that it got known.”
Now, with wars continuing around the world, choirs around the world are performing it.
"I sang that song when I was in high school," said Tim Burns, Musical Director of “Choir-antine," an online choral group in the United Kingdom that got started during the pandemic. Each member sings their part individually, and Burns puts it all together into a YouTube performance.
The message resonates with online audiences.
"Because in any war zone, at any time, the children are the ones the innocent victims, and their cry should be the thing that motivates us to bring peace," said Burns.
Kurt and his family were vacationing in Kenya a few years ago when in casual conversation, a woman from Norway asked what Bestor does for a living. He told her he was a composer.
"I said, well, the song I'm most known for is a song called 'Prayer the Children.' She looked at me and said, 'You wrote Prayer of the Children?' I said, 'Yeah.' She says, 'My choir in Norway sings that. We sing it almost every year as a tribute to the children and the victims of war.'"
In fact, Fana Mannskor, a men’s choir in Bergen, Norway performed it just two weeks ago. Proceeds from ticket sales went to support relief work for the children in Ukraine.
“Because of all the suffering around the world, we have to give them hope,” said Harald Selvag, who sings with Fana Mannskor. “The song is an expression of hope."
There is a point in the original version of “Prayer of the Children” where Bestor wrote lyrics in Croation. Since those early days, that portion of the song has been translated into various languages, depending on where it was being performed. Recently, those languages include Ukrainian, and now, with the war between Israel and Hamas, Hebrew and Arabic.
The song’s popularity continues to grow.
The band Three Dog Night regularly sings it for their encore in live concerts and Bestor will sing it again this weekend during his annual Christmas concerts, Thursday through Saturday, December 14-16, at the Eccles Theater in downtown Salt Lake City. Tickets are still on sale here.
