How The Tabernacle Choir Plans to Celebrate 5,000th Episode of ‘Music & the Spoken Word’

On Sunday, July 13, The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square will mark the 5,000th episode of “Music & the Spoken Word.”

The 5,000th weekly broadcast airs two days before the 96th anniversary of the first broadcast, which was July 15, 1929.

Tabernacle Choir President Michael O. Leavitt said on a Church News podcast that the world has faced a lot of trials in the years since that first episode was recorded.

“When the Great Depression occurred, ‘Music & the Spoken Word’ was there. When World War II came, ‘Music & the Spoken Word’ was there. It just kept going.

“You can go through all the events of time, and ‘Music & the Spoken Word’ has been and will be a consistent part of our lives. And I think that’s really what we’re celebrating. Five thousand is a big number, but what we’re celebrating is the feeling it gives people and the way it sustains their life, and that it will continue on,” President Leavitt said.

5,000th ‘Music & the Spoken Word’ Episode Celebration

The celebration of the 5,000th episode will include the “Music & the Spoken Word” preshow for the audience in the Conference Center at 9 a.m. on July 13. The 30-minute broadcast of “Music & the Spoken Word” will be at 9:30 a.m.

“There are many special things happening in that program, including using the original baton that was used on the very first Sunday of the very first broadcast of ‘Music & the Spoken Word’ on July 15 of 1929 by Anthony C. Lund,” Derrick Porter, the producer, principal writer and presenter of “Music & the Spoken Word,” said on the Church News podcast.

There will also be a postbroadcast celebration, with more songs performed by the Tabernacle Choir, Porter said. Also, earlier this year, Porter asked for people to share their experiences with “Music & the Spoken Word.” As of early June he had received more than 900 responses, and those have included people from around the world and “listeners and viewers from every continent, including Antarctica — experiences from people stationed at the north and south poles,” Porter said.

These have also included those who aren’t members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which sponsors The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square. “Muslims, Jews, people of faith and people of no particular faith have written in with messages of what the show has meant for them,” said Porter, who stepped into the role about a year ago.

“And so, we invite all who can join us,” Porter said, adding the choir isn’t trying to pull people away from their sacrament meetings. “But for those who it works, we would invite them to join us here on Temple Square in the Conference Center.”

Elements of the preshow and postbroadcast celebration will also be released on the choir’s social media channels, Porter said.

‘Music & the Spoken Word’ Podcasts, Email

As the Tabernacle Choir officials look ahead, “we’re embracing technology in every way we can,” President Leavitt said.

Porter said the choir has launched two different podcasts in conjunction with the 5,000th episode of “Music & the Spoken Word.”

One is the “Music & the Spoken Word” podcast with the three- to four-minute message that will be released weekly on Sundays. Also, people can sign up to have the 400-word, three-minute clip of that “Spoken Word” emailed to them, Porter said.

A behind-the-scenes interview with those in and associated with the Tabernacle Choir organization will be released every other week, Porter said. Those are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other platforms.

Looking Ahead

For the first broadcast on a Monday afternoon, one microphone for the choir and announcer was attached to the ceiling, with a long cable connecting it to KSL’s radio controller, located a city block away. Nineteen-year-old Ted Kimball, son of organist Edward P. Kimball, climbed a 15-foot-tall stepladder and announced each song that was sung by the choir.

Now, there are 6 million people watching and listening every week, President Leavitt said, adding that’s “just scratching the surface.”

As choir officials look to reach more people in more countries and more languages, “we’ll keep the format that we have, but we may add new formats and deliver messages in different ways,” President Leavitt said. “We’re experimenting with that as we go. Our goal is to provide the broadest access we can to that moment where people have a chance to reflect and feel.”

“Music & the Spoken Word” is broadcast on over 2,000 stations worldwide in more than 50 countries, according to information provided by the choir. It’s also available on the Tabernacle Choir’s YouTube channel and on a variety of social media outlets, with captions available in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese. The Spanish version — with Spanish-speaking narrators and other features — is on the El Coro del Tabernáculo YouTube channel.