Andy Reid, the Kansas City Chiefs head coach, will be part of The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square as a visitor narrator throughout a particular broadcast of the “Music & the Spoken Word” on Sunday, July 5, to have fun the 250th anniversary of the signing of the United States’ Declaration of Independence.
Reid, a three-time Super Bowl champion and one in every of the most revered coaches in the National Football League’s historical past, will replicate on the ideas of unity, perseverance and religion which have formed the American story, in accordance to a March 19 announcement on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
“I spent more than a decade just down the road from Independence Hall [in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania], where our Founding Fathers put pen to paper on the Declaration of Independence,” stated Reid, who’s a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He labored for the Philadelphia Eagles soccer workforce as coach and different positions from 1999 to 2012.
The Founding Fathers “were the ultimate team — facing adversity, staying the course and building something that has endured for 250 years. I’m honored to join The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square to celebrate the birth of our nation in a place that reflects the same spirit of unity and faith,” Reid stated.
“Music & the Spoken Word” will likely be offered reside twice on Sunday, July 5 — the Sunday after the United States’ Independence Day on July 4 — at 9:30 a.m. MDT and once more at 11 a.m. MDT. The broadcasts will be seen or listened to on television, radio and the choir’s YouTube channel. (See MusicandtheSpokenWord.com to see the place to watch or pay attention.)
The broadcasts will proceed to originate from the Tabernacle on Temple Square by 2027. Tickets will likely be required to attend the July 5 broadcasts, and knowledge on acquiring tickets will likely be launched at a later date, in accordance to the announcement.
Reid beforehand directed the Tabernacle Choir when the choir carried out in Philadelphia’s Mann Theater on July 7, 2003, as a part of the choir’s Northeast tour.
He said of the experience at the time was that it was “the thrill of thrills. I’ve been to the Super Bowl; this was right up there.”
The Tabernacle Choir and orchestra’s rendition of “Battle Hymn of the Republic” is a part of “America’s Soundtrack,” a nationwide music assortment created to commemorate the 250th anniversary, ChurchofJesusChrist.org introduced on March 5.
It’s one in every of three songs that have been on the America250 YouTube channel earlier this month. More music has been added.
About ‘Music & the Spoken Word’
The 30-minute weekly “Music & the Spoken Word” broadcast consists of a number of songs carried out by the 360-voice choir and 85-musician orchestra, an organ solo and a spoken message. Derrick Porter has been the producer, principal author and presenter of “Music & the Spoken Word” since June 2024. The broadcasts are free and tickets aren’t required. The all-volunteer choir and orchestra’s Thursday night rehearsals are additionally open to the public. See TheTabernacleChoir.org for details about attending.
Tabernacle Choir President Michael O. Leavitt stated, “The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square lends its voice in celebrating the freedom of religion proclaimed to the world in the Declaration of Independence 250 years ago.”
The “Music & the Spoken Word” first aired on July 15, 1929, and the 5,000th episode aired in July 2025.
About the Tabernacle Choir and orchestra
The choir and orchestra lately returned from a “Songs of Hope” tour stop in São Paulo, Brazil.
They have carried out in quite a lot of venues and occasions, together with the 2002 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City and a number of U.S. presidential inaugurations. In 2003, the choir was awarded the National Medal of Arts by U.S. President George W. Bush for its “extraordinary contributions to music and the art of choral singing; for the wide reach and impact of its music; and for inspiring audiences worldwide.”
These “musical missionaries” are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and choir members have a monthslong audition course of.
The choir’s origins date again to 1847, when pioneer members of the Church shaped a choir to sing at a convention of the Church weeks after arriving in Utah’s Salt Lake Valley. The orchestra was organized in 1999, and up to 85 musicians from a roster of 200 volunteers carry out with the choir throughout the weekly “Music & the Spoken Word” broadcast and different particular occasions.
Celebrating America’s 250th
The Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776.
There have been a number of invites and alternatives for Church members and buddies.
The First Presidency has invited all to take part in a quick on July 5 “to express gratitude for religious liberty and to pray that it be strengthened throughout the world,” wrote President Dallin H. Oaks and his counselors, President Henry B. Eyring and President D. Todd Christofferson, in a letter dated March 12. Also, a video about the significance of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution will likely be launched for a fifth-Sunday lesson on May 31.
JustServe is collaborating with America250 — the official nonpartisan initiative established by Congress to commemorate the United States’ 250th anniversary — to make 2026 a record-setting 12 months of volunteering.
FamilySearch International can be collaborating with America250 with particular America250-themed experiences.
The Church can be giving 250 truckloads of food donations to meals banks round the nation.
