Tabernacle Choir Marks 5,000th Episode of Music & the Spoken Word, Celebrating 97 Years of Broadcast

On Sunday, July 13, 2025, the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square aired the 5,000th episode of its weekly program Music & the Spoken Word. The broadcast, which has aired every Sunday since July 15, 1929, reached an estimated 6 million listeners and viewers in 50 countries, marking the 97th anniversary of the show and its status as the longest‑running uninterrupted network broadcast in history.

The first Music & the Spoken Word program was produced from the Salt Lake Tabernacle with a single ceiling‑mounted microphone and a cable that ran to KSL radio’s studio a block away. Ted Kimball, then 19 and the son of organist Edward P. Kimball, climbed a 15‑foot ladder to serve as the announcer. The show began on KSL radio, expanded to television in October 1949, and today is carried by more than 2,000 radio and television stations worldwide, including KSL, KOA in Denver, and stations across the Pacific Northwest.

The milestone was celebrated live in the Conference Center at Temple Square, where over 11,000 people gathered to witness the performance. The broadcast featured the choir’s 360 voices, the Salt Lake Tabernacle organ, and the Orchestra at Temple Square. According to a Church News article, the program’s audience has grown steadily over the decades, and the 5,000th episode was described as a “major milestone” for the choir and its listeners.

Recent outreach has highlighted the choir’s global reach. On July 5, 2025, Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid joined the choir in the Tabernacle to deliver a message for the United States’ 250th birthday, part of a broader celebration that included the weekly broadcast. In June, the choir and orchestra performed two benefit concerts titled Songs of Hope at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on June 24 and 25, 2026, raising money for women and children worldwide and featuring guest performers such as Donny Osmond. The venue, which first hosted the choir in 1926, has become a recurring location for the group’s touring concerts.

The program has also embraced cultural diversity. The April 19, 2025 episode focused on African culture, featuring videos and images from more than two dozen African countries and music that reflected the continent’s traditions. In Brazil, the choir returned to the Ginásio do Ibirapuera in São Paulo on February 27 and 28, 2025, for another Songs of Hope concert, where Brazilian singer Ivete Sangalo joined the choir and orchestra for a series of performances that celebrated the choir’s 45‑year history in the country.

The choir’s latest recording, This New Day: Music of Reflection and Devotion, was released on May 8, 2025. It is the first non‑Christmas album issued by the choir and orchestra since 2019’s Let Us All Press On: Hymns of Praise and Inspiration. Their rendition of “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” arranged by Peter Wilhousky, was selected for the national “America’s Soundtrack” collection commemorating the United States’ 250th anniversary.

Organist Richard Elliott, who has served the choir for 35 years, discussed sacred music and his conversion to Christianity in episode 272 of the Church News podcast, highlighting the role of the choir’s musicians beyond the vocal ensemble.

The 5,000th episode underscores the choir’s enduring presence in broadcast media and its continued engagement with global audiences. The program’s next milestones will be the 5,100th episode in 2026 and the 5,200th in 2027, as the choir prepares to celebrate further anniversaries and continue its tradition of weekly broadcasts.