Who? How? Why?

This site grew out of my personal interest in classical music from my own part of the country. Curiosity led me to seek examples of classical music with roots in Utah, and to find a way to hear these works for myself. The next logical step was to find a way to present them for anyone else who might share my musical whims. So, a section of this site contains around 60 selected examples (as of late in the year 2025) with the plan and potential to eventually get up to something like 100 examples representing various styles over the decades.

There is also a section of original music stashed on this web site, composed by me, Douglas Wood of Utah. To avoid confusion, please note that there is another much more well known composer/performer with the same name. My apologies if you are mixing us up. You can see more about him at his web site.

I have been in and around music for over 50 years, playing in bands, orchestras and various community ensembles. For about 20 of those years I was also directly involved in concert and event production, including hands on experience doing “tech” for musicians of wildly different genres to help them put on quality shows. And through all those years I was always curious about people who made local music, and the works they made. So I read avidly, in old and new books and other info sources. Always looking for sheet music, in person and online. Plus taking note of books, historic events or other topics which caught my fancy to be used as a seed of inspiration for writing something.

While I was surrounded by music for decades, I only started writing some original music maybe 15 years ago. Putting part of my own output on this site is mainly a way to help organize and archive my own pieces.

My original music on this site is all protected by copyright, as is standard under the laws of the USA. For the video productions which include a mixture of older music and new video or graphics, ownership rights are mixed. When I include content from others it is because I have obtained the rights to use them through licensing, or believe them to be “Public Domain” or “Fair Use” status items or situations, meaning they are legal to use in this way. If you have reason to dispute that, please just let me know.

Software I use for music notation is usually “MuseScore.” It is a user friendly tool for automating and streamlining some of the technical aspects of composition, letting one see and hear the results along the way. It is a way to do typesetting of music notation and instantly hear your results, then save the piece as a music file when ready. For video editing my usual choice is “VSDC Video Editor,” which has a fairly steep learning curve but has the options I need. Both of those software offerings have free-to-use versions. Adobe Express & Canva are also useful if I need some different effects.

For “live” recordings of selected pieces I have enjoyed using an online service which facilitates contact with freelance musicians and other creative artists who are willing to do small projects for hire. Fiverr.com has connected me with several very capable pianists, graphic artists, and other creators who will tackle a recording project if I can supply them with sheet music.

What about the site name?  As this collection grew it seemed obvious that it should have a wed site name (URL) that matched the subject.  So I reserved both “utahcomposers.com” and “utahclassical.com”  Before securing those the project was hosted/posted on my personal web site named www.Yando.com. That word came to me from an author I adore,  the late Manly Wade Wellman, whose wide ranging body of work included frequent references to folk music, and to a mythical mountain he called “Yandro” in the hill country of the American southeast. The term Yandro has also appeared in other contexts and other countries around the world, but for me it is a reminder of the abiding power of the creative process to expand the human experience. Whether it is just for oneself, or is shared with others.

Contact is welcome, and several options may work.

E-mail is welcome to ask questions or offer suggestions.  Send a note!

Also, this web site is always in the formative stages, so I can be reached through my personal Facebook page.