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BYU
Music Groups Record on Own Label
Tantara Records
puts all BYU music groups under one umbrella -- and all over the
world -- with high-quality recordings. BYU's Tantara Records has
produced more than 50 titles featuring BYU performing groups and
composers
by Laurie Williams
Sowby
You may have
seen them -- selling like hotcakes from tables in the lobby after
performances, lining racks in the music section at the BYU Bookstore,
or displayed in LDS music outlets. You may even own a couple of
recordings by BYU's choirs, faculty or instrumental ensembles.
Purchase
BYU music here.
But if you're
like most people, you have little idea where they came from. Hint:
Don't think Deseret Book or Covenant, both known for LDS music recordings.
Instead, meet Tantara.
Tantara Records
is a company which sees to it that the products of BYU's School
of Music are heard all over the world. The Italian word, suggested
as the name by former music department head K. Newell Dayley, denotes
a trumpet fanfare.
With offices
located in the Knight Mangum Building, the label which oversees
recording and distribution of BYU music-related CDs and videos is
growing.
"It's been
around for 25 years, but it's been organized into a company with
more visibility now," said Ron Simpson, whose role as general
manager is just one of many hats he wears, including working with
the Young Ambassadors and Living Legends and serving as division
coordinator of media music. Simpson joined the BYU music department
in 1984, bringing with him his business expertise as co-founder
of Sound Column.
Tantara Comes
Into Its Own
Tantara gradually
came into being between 1993 and 1994, he said, but hit its stride
in the late 1990's. More than 50 titles are currently available,
in four categories: classical, jazz, contemporary and inspirational
(see www.tantararecords.com
to order). Operations manager Ben Fales says the goal is seven new
recordings each year.
Having its own
label means BYU has put all of the performing arts organizations
-- which used to produce their own recordings individually -- under
one umbrella. Tantara encompasses a surprisingly broad variety in
what it offers--- including Synthesis jazz, Barlow Endowment composers'
new works, hymns by the BYU Singers, a cappella jazz by Vocal Point,
the Caribbean rhythms of Panoramic Steel, and classical favorites
by the BYU Chamber Orchestra.
The Young Ambassadors'
recordings have long been top sellers because of what Simpson called
"a well-oiled mechanism that worked for years" as albums
have been sold in lobbies following concerts. Now their music is
also available in music stores -- "thanks to Tantara,"
said Simpson.
So is new music
written by contemporary composers, performed by BYU music faculty
members such as the Roger Drinkall-Dian Baker cello/piano duo, with
the late cellist's "Late Conversations" recently re-released.
In addition
to the general public, Tantara's customers include libraries and
industry colleagues. The Heritage Series, whose purpose is to preserve
LDS music, includes "Leroy Robertson: A Treasury of Chamber
Music," Robert Cundick's oratorio, "The Redeemer,"
and "JoAnn Ottley: Retrospective."
The best seller
in Tantara's repertoire? "Unquestionably, it's `A Thanksgiving
of American Folk Hymns,'" said Simpson, who cites "a synergy
between the music makers and the directors" that makes it a
hit. The concert by several BYU choirs and orchestra has been shown
on 130 PBS television stations. The popularity of the video necessitated
production of a compact disc and cassette to follow it. They've
sold by the tens of thousands. A DVD is in the works for the album's
10th anniversary this year, Fales notes.
"We're
trying to get LDS music out to a wide variety of stations,"
said Simpson. Those include public radio stations in Minnesota,
Philadelphia and Boston, as well as KZION.com on the internet.
Where It
All Happens
The actual recording
of Tantara products may take place in commercial studios around
Utah, on the BYU Motion Picture Studios' sound stage, or on campus
in the de Jong Concert Hall in the Harris Fine Arts Center. Tantara
doesn't actually record in the building where the phone rings and
the small staff keeps up with orders and shipping. But it often
teams up to produce a master recording, which is then made available
for air play and reviews before more CDs are copied.
Such was the
case with Synthesis, whose "Live at Montreaux" was recorded
at the international jazz festival in Switzerland. The reverse happened
with the BYU Singers' "We Sing of Christ." The locally-owned
Sanctus company made the master, and Tantara took over from there.
Excel entertainment distributes Tantara's product to music outlets
across the country.
Fales says the
biggest challenge is "being a two-man operation, trying to
get everything done" to supply the market. Whereas classical
and inspirational music sales may have fallen in other areas, he
says, "We've done all right because of our LDS audience."
Some of Tantara's
inspirational CDs which may appeal to those LDS listeners include:
-- "Echoes
of the Sabbath," sort of a sampler of BYU choral groups, originally
intended as a public relations gift for those contemplating enrollment
at BYU. It contains some excellent sacred selections, some with
lush orchestral accompaniment of BYU's Philharmonic Orchestra.
-- From the
University Singers under Ron Staheli, "We Sing of Christ...the
Songs of Zion" (familiar hymns and religious folk songs), "Songs
of the Soul" (some lesser-known pieces featuring the Singers'
impeccable harmonies), and "I Believe This is Jesus" (African-American
spirituals whose rhythms would probably render them inappropriate
for sacrament meeting but are otherwise good listening).
-- "The
Road Home," a collection of music about heart and home, performed
by the University Singers, Concert Choir, Women's Chorus and Men's
Chorus.
-- "All
Creatures of Our God and King," featuring the BYU Concert Choir
under the direction of Mack Wilberg, along with some of his trademark
arrangements of familiar hymns and sacred works.
See the entire
selection and hear samples at www.tantararecords.com.
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© 2003 Meridian
Magazine. All Rights Reserved.
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