By Kevin Earl
Many students take classes from a variety of disciplines expecting to expand their education and experience but not expecting it to change their future careers or lives.
For Tyler Castleton, originally a broadcast student who changed to the music media program, taking one class that was not part of his major academic plan changed his life forever.
?I took the song writing class from Ron Simpson, and that just lit me on fire for all things music,? Castleton said. ?I was never really plugged into the fact that you could write songs and do it for a living, and write music and get paid for it. So that just opened things up.?
Castleton, originally from Preston, Idaho, had always enjoyed creating music, he said. He wrote his first songs for his high school graduation and mission.
He never imagined that one day multiple artists, including Martina McBride, Gladys Knight, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Jericho Road would record his songs.
Ron Simpson, one of Castleton?s mentors at BYU, helped guide his career path as a musician, Castleton said. Simpson remembers when Castleton came to interview and audition for the Music Media Program with his mom.
?He sat down at the piano ? and I could tell that he was really good, he was a kid with a lot of talent,? Simpson said.
Simpson said he saw Castleton grow as a musician and get consistently better during his years at BYU.
Inspirational music is how most people know Castleton?s work. He has been involved with multiple Especially for Youth albums and worked for Deseret Book in their music department. He has worked with many LDS musicians through arranging, producing, writing and touring.
He had not always planned on working in the LDS music scene.
?I?ve definitely done writing in other genres,? Castleton said. ?Almost by accident I did the LDS music scene. I certainly have a passion for writing songs that had spiritual underpinnings, for sure, and I love being able to express my feelings through music. People just started to hire me.?
Rather than being a songwriter, he considers himself a creator. At BYU he worked for KBYU and was the stage manager for The Young Ambassadors for many years.
Now he uses all of the skills developed from this training, and more, to be a songwriter, arranger and producer.
?I just like to be in a place where there are creative things happening,? Castleton said. ?I love to create, whether that?s on a song writing level or an arranging level or just being a producer bringing all the facets of music together.?
When Castleton was preparing for marriage he and his future wife, Emily, turned to Simpson and his wife, Maisa, for guidance.
?There was a time in Russia when Emily and Tyler were both in the show and Emily knew that Tyler was kind of in love with her,? Simpson said. ?But she wasn?t sure if she could stand the life of a musician and him being gone a lot ? so Emily came to Maisa, my wife, and they talked it through and Emily decided to take a chance and go with it.?
Now the Castletons have three children and Tyler has won multiple awards and accolades and he has written many songs that thousands of people have heard all around the world.
Simpson said it?s hard to be good musically every day and Tyler Castleton succeeds.
?I don?t have any great scuttlebutt or anything on him,? Simpson said. ?He?s just a straight-A-head, good guy. He works hard. He?s been loyal to his friends he went to school with ? so I?m just full of admiration for him. I liked him at the beginning and I still do ? Tyler is a notably courteous and kind person to work with and I think that?s why everybody likes him so much.?
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