Virgil Barstad

Violinist/violist by hobby rather than profession, but I love it. I'm concertmaster of the Symphony of the Canyons in Kanab, Utah, play viola in the Southwest Symphony in St George, Utah. I've been composing and arranging since 1994, which is just after obtaining my first score-writing software. My original piece "If a Bear Goes Waltzing in the Forest, Will his True Love put on her Tutu and Join him" was a runner-up in the Scorchmusic contest. Woohoo! I love Joplin, but I also love playing and editing Baroque composers as well. I like to have fun with music rather than impress with my expertise, and I think my compositions and arrangements reflect that attitude. A recent favorite is my "Suite Luna de Miel" - a honeymoon tour of three Latin American countries. Since autumn of 2001 my wife Mary and I have been the music team for St David's Episcopal Church in Page, Arizona. I'll begin to include some of the arrangements I've done for us. I play violin or viola, she plays a keyboard or harp, and often she also sings soprano. I'll place these arrangements in groups such as Church, or Advent, or Christmas, etc.