Derrick Porter, the new announcer for “Music & the Spoken Word,” greeted the audience gathered Sunday, June 23, for The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square’s weekly broadcast with “Good morning, everyone. Welcome to ‘Music & the Spoken Word.’”
He said that he had something in common with many of them. When greeter Kathy Clayton introduced the show, she asked how many gathered in the Conference Center were there for the first time — and about two-thirds of the people raised their hands.
“It is not my first time being in this building, or even in this broadcast. It is my first time standing here on this stage doing this,” said Porter, who also noted his family and many friends were in the audience.
Sunday was Porter’s first week as the announcer. On Sunday, June 16, Lloyd Newell gave a farewell message after being the announcer and primary writer for the weekly “Spoken Word” messages for 34 years. Newell and his wife, Karmel Newell, are mission leaders in the California Los Angeles Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the choir’s sponsor.
Prior to the broadcast, Porter shared the history of the program that’s been broadcast weekly since July 15, 1929. 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.
“Edward P. Kimball was the organist, and he somehow convinced his 19-year-old son Ted to climb atop a 15-foot-tall step ladder and to stay there throughout the entire broadcast, announcing each song himself that was sung that day by the choir,” he said.
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. Newell started in November 1990 on a temporary basis and was made the permanent announcer in March 1991.
Porter said prior to Sunday’s episode, No. 4,945: “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.”
During his first “Spoken Word” message, which was prerecorded, Porter introduced himself and acknowledged Newell’s departure.
“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.
He also recognized how unique this opportunity is. “As I begin this new season of service, I recognize that sharing spiritual messages requires something more than my professional experience. It requires a personal connection to the words both spoken and sung.”
After the broadcast of The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square, he thanked the audience. “We also hope that this new friendship might be part of an ongoing relationship,” he said.
As they left, each attendee was offered a card with an image of the Savior and a QR code for a “gift of music.”
The “Music & the Spoken Word” 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.
More photos from Sunday’s ‘Music & the Spoken Word’
