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'America's Choir' celebrates 'unprecedented' milestone nearly 100 years after first broadcast
'America's Choir' celebrates 'unprecedented' milestone nearly 100 years after first broadcast

Fox News

time2 days ago

  • 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."

5000th episode of ‘Music and the Spoken Word' airs Sunday
5000th episode of ‘Music and the Spoken Word' airs Sunday

Yahoo

time4 days ago

  • 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.

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