The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square’s first “Music & the Spoken Word” was on July 15, 1929 — 95 years ago.
For the first broadcast, one microphone for the choir and announcer was attached to the ceiling, with a long cable connecting it to KSL’s radio controller, a city block away.
Ted Kimball, the 19-year-old son of organist Edward P. Kimball, climbed atop a 15-foot step ladder and stayed there during the broadcast, announcing each song.
Richard L. Evans was the first regular announcer of “Music & the Spoken Word” from the summer of 1930 until 1971 — more than 41 years, which included his call as a Church general authority and later a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Spence Kinard presented the “Spoken Word” from 1972 to 1990.
Lloyd Newell started in November 1990 on a temporary basis and was made the permanent announcer in March 1991. His time as announcer ended in June as he and his wife began serving as mission leaders for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Derrick Porter began on Sunday, June 23.
Since 1929, the delivery of “Music & the Spoken Word” now includes digital platforms and on-demand viewing. The episode on Sunday, July 14, was No. 4,948.
The program was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2024 and the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2010. A Spanish version was launched in 2023.
“The purpose of this broadcast is the very same, and that is to deliver peace and joy, happiness, as well as a connection to the divine and to give that to the world. And we do that through music and through the spoken word,” Porter shared prior to the live broadcast.
The “Music & the Spoken Word” program airs Sundays at 9:30 a.m. Mountain time and is available on a variety of television and radio stations and is online at tabernaclechoir.org and youtube.com/TheTabernacleChoir. See thetabernaclechoir.org/music-spoken-word.html for more on attending or watching “Music & the Spoken Word.”
Here are several recent stories about the Tabernacle Choir.
1. New ‘Spoken Word’ host and announcer
Porter began as the “Music & the Spoken Word” fourth regular host and announcer in June.
“My face and voice are different from Lloyd Newell’s, but the music, the messages and the spirit of this broadcast will continue to bring joy, hope and peace,” he said.
Read more about the press conference introducing Porter, see photos from his first week on the broadcast and read his first message.
2. Outgoing host reflects on nearly 35 years as announcer
In June, the “Spoken Word” announcer changed from Newell to Porter.
“It has been such a blessing to be involved with the choir over these many years,” Lloyd Newell said in an interview with the Church News. “One year turned into five years, turned into 10 years, turned into 20, turned into 30. And now, almost 35 years later, I cannot believe it. When I started this in 1990, I never could have dreamed that all these decades later, I would still be doing the ‘Spoken Word’ and serving with the Tabernacle Choir.”
Listen to the Church News podcast with Lloyd and Karmel Newell, read his reflections and his last “Spoken Word” message.
3. Tabernacle Choir auditions
Applications for the Tabernacle Choir opened June 1 and will close Aug. 15. Find out more about the annual four-phase audition process from Tabernacle Choir managers and former choir members.
Choir managers Grant Jex and Syndy Lambert and choir executive assistant Alison Barton all have been choir members and talked with the Church News about the audition process. Jex sang bass for 15 years, Lambert sang second soprano for 20 years, and Barton sang first soprano for 10 years.
Read more about auditioning for the Tabernacle Choir.
4. Tabernacle Choir’s fall tour to Florida and Georgia
The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square next stops of its multiyear, multicity “Hope” tour will be in Florida and Georgia in Sept. 7-11.
Adassa, of “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” fame, and Alex Melecio, a Mexican vocalist, will join them for the concert at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, concert on Sept. 7.
On Sept. 9, the choir and orchestra will perform with the Morehouse College Glee Club and Spelman College Glee Club in the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel on the Morehouse campus. On Sept. 11, the college glee clubs will also perform as the choir’s guests in the State Farm Arena concert in Atlanta.
Ticketing information is at www.choirworldtour.com.
The choir and orchestra toured in the Philippines in February, with a sacred music concert and two concerts in the SM Mall of Asia Arena. It featured singers Lea Salonga and Ysabella Cuevas and hosts Suzi Entrata-Abrera and Paolo Abrera. Last summer, the choir and orchestra performed in Mexico City, including at the Toluca Cathedral and two “Esperanza” concerts in Mexico City’s National Auditorium.
Read more about the choir’s “Hope” tour stops in Florida and Georgia.
5. Guest artists for ‘Music & the Spoken Word’
There have been a variety of guest artists that have performed on “Music & the Spoken Word,” including when the Piano Guys duo pianist Jon Schmidt and cellist Steven Sharp Nelson performed with the choir in August 2022.
