Musicians

Martin Smith

Martin Smith is the lead singer of British band Delirious?, which has influenced the modern worship movement across the world. Delirious? is best known for their anthems, History Maker, I Could Sing of Your Love Forever, and Majesty. Martin is dedicated to seeing people of all backgrounds and cultures worship God; hence, he has a heart for worship and justice to live together. He has started CompassionArt, a new charity that has brought together artists from around the world to fight poverty. Martin is married to Anna; they have six young children and love riding their bikes along the seafront where they live on the south coast of England.

Vicky Beeching

“Trying to describe the Eternal using earthly words is like trying to scoop up the whole ocean into the palm of your hand. It’s like trying to count every star in the endless midnight sky. All of our words fall so short; every melody failing to capture the true beauty of the Heavenly.” So says Vicky Beeching, a fourth-generation worship leader and Oxford-educated songwriter.

With a charismatic and Pentecostal church background, Beeching holds a dual passion for “Spirit and Truth" -- the Bible and the Holy Spirit working together in harmony. She holds a strong belief that our offering must be far more than songs, and that God calls us to live a lifestyle of worship. Quoting passages from Isaiah, Amos and Malachi, Vicky describes that God is looking for the kind of worship that is practical as well as musical. “He asks us to reach out to the poor, the needy, and the broken. This must be the overflow of our times of singing. It’s time for us to put our lyrics into motion, our intentions into application, and our worship into action.”

In the summer of 2006, Vicky traveled to Lima, Peru, with Compassion International. What she experienced deepened her belief that worship is inextricably linked to mission, justice, and social action. Since that time, this commitment has led her into prisons, nightclubs homes for abused women, and low-income churches that could not afford to bring in paid musicians. “The worship God delights in is when we reach out,” Beeching says. “It’s not enough to just sing about something. It has to get practical. Let’s move beyond our church walls, beyond our comfort zones, and see what God will do.”

Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel Choir from Howard University

The Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel Choir from Howard University is nationally recognized for providing the finest, most diverse sacred music. The choir consists of students, faculty, staff, and other vocalists from the wider University community. The weekly repertoire of the Chapel choir’s ministry spans the full spectrum of sacred music genres including classical, operatic, anthems, spirituals, gospel, and contemporary traditions. It preserves and leads the congregation in hymns during the Chapel worship services .