Tyler Kidd

I was born on May 7, 1980, at our home in Lehi, Utah. In fact, I was born in my sister’s bed. Not to worry, this was on purpose as my mother had a wonderful midwife. The fifth child of six and the third son. While I was too young to remember, my family moved to Rock Springs, Challis, and Boise. I have very few memories of Challis and Boise. My first reliable memories are of moving to Hyrum, Utah. We lived for a time with friends of my parents, the Parkers, before moving into our own home. I attended Lincoln Elementary until the middle of second grade when we moved south to Hurricane, Utah.

I consider Hurricane my home town as we lived there for the longest amount of time. In sixth grade, I chose to play horn (French horn) in the band, and I soon realized my passion for music. I participated in band, marching band, jazz band, pep band, ska band, rhythm ensemble, choir, theater, speech & debate, and a number of other activities. I was named band president and graduated co-Salutatorian in May of 1998.

After high school, I attended one year at Dixie College before serving a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I served in the Billings, Montana mission, which covered all of Montana and a third of Wyoming, from 1999 to 2001. Following my mission, I returned home to Loa, Utah, where my parents had moved during my service. I was only there for a few months, working for the Lodge at Red River Ranch as a cook, host, and groundskeeper.

When the school year started again, I moved to St. George, Utah, to live with my sister, Chelsi, and her husband and attend now Dixie State College. Eventually, I moved to an apartment with some of my closest friends to finish my associate’s degree. It was during this time that the choir director, Dr. Kim, encouraged me to begin private voice lessons. Following graduation in 2002, I auditioned for scholarships at the University of Utah on both horn and voice and was offered a vocal scholarship.

During the vocal auditions, a new friend introduced me to a friend of his from high school. A young lady by the name of Katie (Kathleen) Holloman (Born November 1, 1981). We had a number of classes together, and following an invitation by her to accompany her to get tickets to a U of U football game, I decided I should ask her on an official date.

Our courtship would be considered very short, as we both realized that the Lord had directed our lives and brought us together. We were engaged after dating for about a month and were married in the St. George temple on December 14, 2002.

We continued our schooling at the University of Utah, I in Instrumental and Vocal Education, and Katie in Vocal Education. On December 16, 2003, Ellie (Elizabeth after my grandmother) was born. Ellie spent her days being watched by different members of the family so that Katie could finish her degree. Katie was working for the University in the Graduation department, and I was working for AAA Fair Credit Foundation – a non-profit debt counseling agency.

We both graduated in 2006 with bachelor’s degrees in music education. Katie decided to dedicate herself to being a mother while I auditioned, and was accepted, to the graduate program for Instrumental Conducting at the University of Utah. I received a graduate assistantship to work under Dr. Robert Baldwin as the Orchestra Librarian and assistant conductor of the Campus-wide Symphony. I was still working for AAA during this time.

On October 22, 2006, Liam (Liam Alexander) was born. Katie now had two children to watch while I continued to work and attend school full-time. I finished my Master’s degree in Instrumental Conducting and graduated in May of 2008. Unfortunately, the economy had taken a downturn, and many of the teaching opportunities had dried up as those who were planning to retire, now had to wait. So, I took a second job working as the head stage manager for the University of Utah’s school of music. I continued to work for AAA as their Director of Creditor Relations.

On June 5, 2008, Dillon (Dillon Rhys) was born, and soon after, we moved in with Katie’s parents in Riverton, Utah so that Katie could help her mother who had recently had back surgery for cancer. Katie’s mother had been fighting cancer off-and-on since Katie was very young. After three years there, we decided that we would purchase a larger home together in Riverton so we all had more space. In February of 2011, we moved, and in March, I quit both of my previous jobs to begin work for Fidelity Investments.

                Katie’s mother lost her fight with cancer in 2015, and we continue to live with her father. I continue to play horn and am currently playing principal horn with the West Valley Symphony. Fidelity has treated our family well, and I foresee a long career with them. Katie works as a stay-at-home mother and piano/voice teacher.