Mormon Tabernacle Choir Making HistorySALT LAKE CITY (AP) - When music director Craig Jessop raises his baton Sunday morning to direct the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, it won't be just another broadcast of the weekly program "Music and the Spoken Word."It will be the 4,000th broadcast — a milestone in radio broadcasting history.The Emmy-winning choir may be the best-known facet of the Salt Lake City-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. First formed in 1847 during the Mormon's trek across the plains to settle Salt Lake City, the 360-member choir has since performed around the world and earned a reputation as one of the finest chorale groups. It has produced more than 150 recordings (among them five gold and two platinum records), performed in 28 countries and sung for 10 presidents and at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.The choir's weekly Sunday program first aired July 15, 1929, on a single radio station and has continued without interruption. It now airs on more than 2,000 radio stations around the world. (Only Nashville's Grand Ole Opry, claims a longer broadcast history. That program will mark its 4,191st airing this weekend, Opry spokeswoman Darlene Beiber said.)"It's just a great honor to be a part of this ongoing tradition of hope and inspiration and faith," said Jessop, who began his choir career as a singer in 1973 and became it's music director seven years ago.Jessop and a writer's team that includes Lloyd D. Newell, who performs the "spoken word" part of each broadcast, plan each half-hour program about eight weeks in advance. They choose a theme, then Jessop works to find the right music to harmonize with the message. Sometimes the themes are tied to world events, such as the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Jessop said.The desired result is a nondenominational message that crosses demographic and religious lines."We had a letter from a women that said `When it comes to religion, I'm as Lutheran as they come, but when it comes to music, I'm all Mormon Tabernacle Choir,'" choir general manager Scott L. Barrick said.Among the choir's fans is radio star Charles Osgood, who has been a frequent master of ceremonies at choir performances and likens the experience to "floating on clouds.""I think the Mormon Tabernacle Choir is as great as it is because it's become it's a labor of love," the CBS newsman said in an interview from New York.Choir members, who can serve no more than 20 years, are all volunteers who devote countless hours to rehearsals and performances. It's a commitment that's as unparalleled as a run of 4,000 radio broadcasts, Osgood said."That's a number that in broadcasting is unimaginable," said Osgood, who taped a congratulatory message to the choir that will air during Sunday's broadcast.The 4,000th program will also reach back through history, with music from the original broadcast.
