Music & the Spoken Word
Public audiences are invited to join the live performances of Music & the Spoken Word each Sunday morning on Temple Square. Audiences can also stream Music & the Spoken Word each week from anywhere in the world through the choirs YouTube channel or www.tabchoir.org
For more than nine decades, nearly the lifetime of radio, The Tabernacle Choir has presented a weekly program — Music & the Spoken Word — without interruption, giving voice to peace, hope, inspiration and the goodness of God. No other broadcast can claim such a heritage.
For more than nine decades, nearly the lifetime of radio, The Tabernacle Choir has presented a weekly program — Music & the Spoken Word — without interruption, giving voice to peace, hope, inspiration and the goodness of God. No other broadcast can claim such a heritage.
Public audiences are invited to join the live performances of Music & the Spoken Word each Sunday morning on Temple Square. Audiences can also stream Music & the Spoken Word each week from anywhere in the world through the choirs YouTube channel or www.tabchoir.org
For more than nine decades, nearly the lifetime of radio, The Tabernacle Choir has presented a weekly program — Music & the Spoken Word — without interruption, giving voice to peace, hope, inspiration and the goodness of God. No other broadcast can claim such a heritage.
For more than nine decades, nearly the lifetime of radio, The Tabernacle Choir has presented a weekly program — Music & the Spoken Word — without interruption, giving voice to peace, hope, inspiration and the goodness of God. No other broadcast can claim such a heritage.
Weekly Concert Details
- When: Every Sunday at 9:30 a.m.
- Time: Doors open at 8:15 a.m. Please be seated by 9:15 a.m.
- Duration: The broadcast is 30 minutes in length and ends at 10:00 a.m.
- Where: Tabernacle
- Admission: FREE and open to the public. No ticket required for entry.
- Age Guideline: 8 and older to attend.
Weekly Concert Details
- When: Every Sunday at 9:30 a.m.
- Time: Doors open at 8:15 a.m. Please be seated by 9:15 a.m.
- Duration: The broadcast is 30 minutes in length and ends at 10:00 a.m.
- Where: Tabernacle
- Admission: FREE and open to the public. No ticket required for entry.
- Age Guideline: 8 and older to attend.
FAQs
Where can I park?
Generally, parking is always available at the Conference Center. For more information click here.
How can I watch Music & the Spoken Word?
Can I attend the weekly rehearsal?
Absolutely! Our weekly rehearsal is a great way to see the choir perform on a day other than Sunday.
Click Here to learn more about weekly rehearsals.
History of Music & the Spoken Word
While many music programs come from a studio built for that purpose, Music & the Spoken Word goes out to the world from its home in the Tabernacle on Temple Square, which announcers have called “the crossroads of the West.” The building, completed in 1867, has become a recording studio with a stellar reputation for sound quality. In busy summer months, tourist attendance has required the program to be broadcast from the much larger Conference Center across the street. Both buildings are equipped with state-of-the-art technology. Since the beginning, the Choir has opened the weekly program with what has become a hallmark, the 1835 hymn “Gently Raise the Sacred Strain.” Choir Music Director Mack Wilberg plans each week’s program.
What was once just a show coming across the kitchen radio made the jump to television in 1962, and cable and satellite broadcasts soon followed. Today, Music & the Spoken Word is viewed with increasing frequency on social media channels, such asYouTube , Facebook , and the choir website by people around the world, from the United States and Chile to the Philippines and England.
Music & the Spoken Word has been inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame and the National Radio Hall of Fame and has entered the hearts of listeners everywhere.
The first airing on July 15, 1929, was makeshift at best. That summer day, a local radio crew ran a wire from their control room to an amplifier in the Tabernacle nearly a block away. The technicians put the station’s sole microphone on a ladder not only to capture the music of the Choir but also so an announcer could introduce each number. Nineteen-year-old Ted Kimball—son of the Tabernacle organist and the designated announcer—perched on the ladder for the duration of the program so that those listening could hear his words.
Eleven months later, 24-year-old Richard L. Evans became the first regular program narrator, and for the next 41 years (1930–1971), he was the voice of Music & the Spoken Word. He never missed a broadcast, even with his later assignment as an Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His uplifting, three-minute sermonettes often addressed themes from the Choir’s music. Those listening knew his voice and appreciated his words of comfort, gratitude, happiness, duty, and love.
J. Spencer Kinard followed Evans as announcer from 1972 to 1990. Lloyd Newell took over the role in 1991 and continued in his post until June of 2024, when Derrick Porter was called by the First Presidency to become the new announcer.
What was once just a show coming across the kitchen radio made the jump to television in 1962, and cable and satellite broadcasts soon followed. Today, Music & the Spoken Word is viewed with increasing frequency on social media channels, such as
Music & the Spoken Word has been inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame and the National Radio Hall of Fame and has entered the hearts of listeners everywhere.
The first airing on July 15, 1929, was makeshift at best. That summer day, a local radio crew ran a wire from their control room to an amplifier in the Tabernacle nearly a block away. The technicians put the station’s sole microphone on a ladder not only to capture the music of the Choir but also so an announcer could introduce each number. Nineteen-year-old Ted Kimball—son of the Tabernacle organist and the designated announcer—perched on the ladder for the duration of the program so that those listening could hear his words.
Eleven months later, 24-year-old Richard L. Evans became the first regular program narrator, and for the next 41 years (1930–1971), he was the voice of Music & the Spoken Word. He never missed a broadcast, even with his later assignment as an Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His uplifting, three-minute sermonettes often addressed themes from the Choir’s music. Those listening knew his voice and appreciated his words of comfort, gratitude, happiness, duty, and love.
J. Spencer Kinard followed Evans as announcer from 1972 to 1990. Lloyd Newell took over the role in 1991 and continued in his post until June of 2024, when Derrick Porter was called by the First Presidency to become the new announcer.