Latest news with #TabernacleChoir
New York Times
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Showtime, for the 5,000th Time, With the Tabernacle Choir
'Music & the Spoken Word,' a show broadcast each week from Salt Lake City, not only has endured since 1929, but almost as remarkably, has barely changed. There's the announcer's gentle welcome, a three-minute inspirational message and a handful of hymns performed by the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, formerly and still better known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The program's nearly century-old, 30-minute 'recipe,' as its organizers call it, seems to need no modifications to draw a crowd. On July 13, more than 11,000 people gathered in the cavernous conference center owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to record the program's 5,000th episode. The show 'has always been a part of my life,' said Ron Christensen, 71, who sat near the front with his wife. 'I used to take dates here.' His mother, Lela Christensen, 98, who sang in the choir from 1964 to 1987 (with some breaks for having children), was being honored as the choir's oldest living alumna. The number '5,000' alone may not capture the scale of the longevity of the show, which has aired every week since almost the beginning of commercial radio. 'Saturday Night Live,' which celebrated its 50th anniversary with a lavish prime-time special this year, has not yet hit 1,000 episodes. 'The Simpsons,' America's longest-running sitcom, has produced a piddling 790. What started as a live, local broadcast, captured by the organist's son standing on a ladder and holding a microphone toward the choir, now airs on more than 2,000 radio and television stations around the world. Newer ventures include a Spanish-language version and a behind-the-scenes podcast. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Fox News
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
'America's Choir' celebrates 'unprecedented' milestone nearly 100 years after first broadcast
The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square performed the 5,000th episode of a long-standing Mormon music program on Sunday, marking a monumental milestone since it began nearly 100 years ago. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reported in a statement shared with Fox News Digital that the "Music & the Spoken Word" broadcast was performed at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Over 11,500 people attended. The program began on July 15, 1929, just months before the Great Depression began. The LDS Church said "Music & the Spoken Word" is the longest-running consecutive broadcast of its kind. More than 6 million people listen to the broadcast every week. Choir volunteer Heidi Swinton noted in a release that the program has weathered multiple calamities over the years, including the Great Depression and the COVID-19 pandemic. "[The Choir] can be a voice that says, 'We can do this. We can get through this,'" Swinton said. She added, "Ronald Reagan called it 'America's Choir,' and I think it's because of its longevity, because since the beginning of radio, the Choir has been out there in front heralding the good things that happen and the hard things that happened and saying, 'Lock arms and we'll get through this.'" In the LDS Church statement, 101-year-old Warna Huff said she remembered listening to the first broadcast. "It was something you don't forget," she recalled. "It just makes you feel something that you need. The music's beautiful." Huff, who was five years old in 1929, also said that she watches the program every week. "It just makes you feel good," the worshiper observed. "It just makes you feel something that you need. The music's beautiful." Russell M. Nelson, president of the LDS church, also recalled listening to early broadcasts. "I cannot remember life without 'Music & the Spoken Word,'" the leader recalled. "I was born in 1924 … I can remember, as a little boy, listening to Sunday broadcasts." In a statement, the LDS Church called the performance an "unprecedented achievement [that] underscores the weekly program's enduring legacy and its profound global impact." "Music is the universal language of the Spirit," Nelson said. "Music communicates to the heart and soul of individuals in a way that written words cannot duplicate."
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Hill's Headlines - July 13, 2025
NATIONAL One year since President Trump's assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania ECONOMY The EU is delaying retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods, in hopes of reaching a deal by Aug. 1 INTERNATIONAL Death toll from Israeli attacks on Gaza surpasses 58,000, says health ministry RELIGION Tabernacle Choir to mark 5,000 episodes of 'Music and the Spoken Word' WEATHER Grand Canyon wildfire grows 20-fold over 24 hours as Canadian wildfires smoke blankets U.S. Midwest
The Hill
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hill
Tabernacle Choir to mark 5,000 episodes of ‘Music and the Spoken Word'
The Tabernacle Choir, one of the oldest and largest choral organizations in the world, will broadcast its 5,000th episode of 'Music and the Spoken Word' on Sunday. One of the longest-running broadcast church services, 'Music and the Spoken Word' has aired each week since July 1929 and has been heard by more than 6 million people in 50 countries around the globe on radio, television and online streaming. Sunday's episode will commemorate more than nine decades of music and messages shared with audiences in the United States and beyond, the choir said. Sunday's event will be broadcast from the Conference Center at Temple Square in Salt Lake City and feature a preshow, the 5,000th episode of 'Music and the Spoken Word' and a postshow after the historic program concludes. 'The 5,000th episode of Music & the Spoken Word represents more than longevity and international reach,' said Perry Sook, joint board chair of the National Association of Broadcasters and the chair and CEO of Nexstar Media Group, which is the parent company of The Hill. 'It represents unwavering excellence, a commitment to public service and the enduring power of faith and music to unite us all.' Sunday's 5,000th episode will be broadcast at 11:30 a.m. EDT on the Tabernacle Choir's YouTube channel.
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
5000th episode of ‘Music and the Spoken Word' airs Sunday
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square is making history as the 5000th episode of Music and the Spoken Word is set to air this Sunday, July 13. After the first episode aired in 1929, the choir has broadcasted the program every Sunday for nearly a century, making it the longest continuing live network broadcast in history. 'It's really…amazing,' Music and the Spoken Word Host Derrick Porter said. 'Those who came before us, I think they wouldn't even be able to comprehend what's happening now.' As for what's happening now – growth. More than six million people spread across 50 countries currently tune in. Some key members have been around for a large part of it. Choir Director Mack Wilberg has been a part of 1600 broadcasts and witnessed the program's growth firsthand. 'When I became involved in the program in 1999, it was mainly a program that went to the Intermountain West,' he recalled. 'Now, we're millions on a weekly basis.' So what's responsible for that growth? Leaders said Music and the Spoken Word is not a program with the sole purpose to entertain, but rather to inspire. 'I think the basic recipe of the program has remained the same over these many years, and that is to bring hope, peace, and joy to all those who listen,' Wilberg said. Those feelings are something Choir President Michael O. Leavitt hopes people across the world can recognize. 'The power of some quiet reflection and the role of music and producing it,' he said. '[That can cause] sacred feelings that give them a sense of who they are and they're connected in a way that is important to them.' The 5000th episode is scheduled to air Sunday, July 13 at 9:30 a.m. They have a pre-show and post-show planned surrounding the broadcast. They invite all to attend at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Conference Center. Man turns motorcycle passion into cross-country charity ride for Alzheimer's Rubio begins mass firings at State Department: Key takeaways Worker dies from injuries sustained during California farm raid American Fork asks residents to stick to assigned watering days and conserve water West Nile Virus detected in Cache County mosquitoes Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
