Mr. Nathan D. West

Nathan West started playing violin as a Suzuki student at age 6. At 10 he won first place in the Pocatello Junior Music club annual scholarship competition, which funded additional private lessons. Nathan performed regularly at nursing homes, retirement centers, community, and church events throughout his teenage years.

When he turned 19, Nathan took 2 years off of playing the violin in order to perform church duties. When he returned, he attended Brigham Young University-Idaho and was in the regular rotation of top players, taking his turn as concert master of the BYU-I symphony orchestra, and Chamber orchestra, and was a regular participant in the Baroque Ensemble. He graduated from BYU-I with a Bachelor of Music Arts, String Emphasis. This trend continued as he attended graduate school at the University of Utah. He received a Master of Music, Violin performance degree, and supplemented his studies with a new pursuit of orchestral conducting.

Nathan’s motivation has always been performing. He has always enjoyed entertaining people of any age or culture with music and showmanship. He has performed in orchestras and solo recitals around the mid-West and several times in Europe. In reference to his foreign travels, Nathan states, “Many times music has overcome the language barrier and helped me create friendships with some of the nicest people on earth. The heart and soul of a performer translates instantly into any language, and so does the enthusiasm with which a performance is received.”

Nathan has found great joy, strength, and assurance in classical music throughout his life. During the summers he continues Suzuki Talent Education training as a means to relearn and teach the skills that were developed in him as a student, skills that he now enjoys sharing with a new generation.