Tantara Records is a

recording label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

owned by

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

(BYU) and operated by the BYU School of Music. The mission of Tantara is to promote the musical works of BYU, both by its various vocal and instrumental ensembles and also the works of its faculty who are musical composers, artists or directors. Multiple works by the BYU Singers, BYU Concert Choir,

BYU Men's Chorus Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Chr ...

BYU Women's Chorus The choirs at Brigham Young University (BYU) consist of four auditioned groups: BYU Singers, BYU Concert Choir, BYU Men's Chorus, and BYU Women's Chorus. Each choir is highly accomplished and performs from an extensive repertoire. Together, the ch ...

and

Vocal Point BYU Vocal Point is a nine-member, male a cappella group at Brigham Young University (BYU). Founded by two students, Bob Ahlander & Dave Boyce, in 1991, Vocal Point is under the direction of Emmy award-winning director and former member, McKay Cr ...

have been published by Tantara. Tantara also distributes works by BYU's various bands, orchestras and ensembles. It also operates the Heritage endowment to promote the works of major LDS composers and serves as the distribution arm for the Barlow Endowment. The main producer for Tantara Records is

Ronald W. Simpson Ronald is a masculine given name derived from the Old Norse '' Rögnvaldr'', Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006) p. 234; Hanks; Hodges (2003) § Ronald. or possibly from Old English '' Regenweald''. In some cases ''Ronald'' is an Anglicised form o ...

, a 1982 BYU graduate. Simpson also serves as division coordinator for media music within the School of Music and as associate director of the BYU Young Ambassadors. As of 2004 Simpson and Benjamin Fales, the operations manager, were the only full-time employees of Tantara although it also employed student interns. The idea for Tantara Records was developed by

K. Newell Dayley K. Newell Dayley (born 1939) is a prominent Latter Day Saint composer, hymnwriter and musician. He was a professor of music at Brigham Young University (BYU) and later served as the associate academic vice president for undergraduate studies at tha ...

, who was then the chair of BYU's School of Music, along the model of the university press. The decision to go through with it was brought about in large part because of the non-standard rates music publishers threatened to charge BYU in the matter of its publication of the album ''An American Tradition of Folk Hymns''.

References

''BYU Magazine'' Fall, 2002''Deseret News'' Mar 21, 2004 article on Tantara

External links

Official website
Brigham Young University American record labels 1993 establishments in Utah {{US-record-label-stub