Founded in 1970, the Moody Campus Orchestra (MCO) has a rich history of glorifying God through worship music in Chicago and around the world. Directed by Dr. Daniel Mattix, its diverse repertoire spans modern and classical music, film scores, and features original works by Moody musicians as well as contemporary worship arrangements. The MCO uniquely integrates a full worship team, offering students specializing in contemporary worship-band instruments and vocals a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform together in this vibrant ministry.

Conducted by Dr. Yongmin Kim, the Moody Chorale was founded in 1946 and has long been recognized as one of the leading collegiate choral groups specializing in sacred music. The Chorale strives to minister to its audiences by weaving biblical truths and personal testimony into its worshipful performances. Their repertoire includes a broad range of choral music from all periods of music history.

The Moody Gospel Choir is a group of Moody-trained vocalists who love sharing the good news of Christ through their inspirational performances. Led by professor Walter Owens, it includes a full choir and standard rhythm section, and their repertoire ranges from traditional styles to more contemporary pieces. The overarching goal of the group is to esteem God’s Word and its performance opportunities include local concerts, Chicagoland area churches, schools, ministry organizations, Moody conferences, and on-campus chapel services.

The Moody Worship Collectives are comprised of EverPraise and Ecclesia. Directed by Moody professor Aaron Wong, the Collectives seek to lead others in worshiping Him through the power contemporary praise music and create and record original music in their in-house studio. This talented group of musicians often performs at chapels, donor and student events, Moody conferences, and several churches in the Chicagoland area.

The One O’Clock Jazz Band, led by Kazumasa Terashima, is a small ensemble that focuses on a wide selection of classic, contemporary, and original jazz tunes. Open to students, faculty, and staff members at Moody, “Jazz with Kaz,” as it is affectionately known, performs at Candlelight Carols, in chapel, and at other events around Moody’s Chicago campus. Kaz himself writes most of the arrangements.

Bethany Paulsen has a Bachelor of Arts in Theology and Biblical Studies from Moody Bible Institute and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Directing and Dramatic Writing from the University of Idaho. Bethany has a passion for collaborative storytelling and has worked professionally as an actress, appearing on TV and in independent film and theater productions. As a jack-of-all-trades, she freelances as a writer, artistic director, and public speaker. As a playwright, she has had several of her original plays produced across the United States. Bethany also works within the commercial industry as a line producer and casting director.

Dr. Mattix enjoys a diverse career as a church musician, conductor, composer, and professor. He teaches a variety of classes in songwriting, composition, music theory, and church music, in addition to private lessons at Moody Bible Institute. Dr. Mattix serves as conductor of the Moody Campus Orchestra, and his compositions have been performed in 35 states and nine countries. Dr. Mattix, a Moody alumnus, is also active as a worship leader in his local church. He and his wife, Katie (a Moody alumna herself), enjoy making music with their two children and also maintain a music studio in Chicago’s western suburbs.

Dr. Kim is the conductor of the Moody Chorale and associate professor at Moody Bible Institute. He is an experienced church musician, having been the worship and music director at the Korean Presbyterian Church of Metro Detroit for 17 years. Currently, Dr. Kim is serving at Chicago Covenant Presbyterian Church in Glenview, Illinois, as the creative director of Worship and Media Arts. He is a distinguished musician who holds degrees from Presbyterian College and Seminary (Seoul, South Korea), Eastman School of Music, and the University of Michigan, where he earned both a Master of Music in Choral Conducting and a doctorate in Voice Performance.

Walter Owens is a native Chicagoan and currently serves the Salem Baptist Church of Chicago as minister of Music and Arts. His professional full-time music ministry career spans more than 34 years, and he has served in churches across the Chicago metropolitan area. Walter’s passion for sharing the gospel has allowed him to travel extensively to Sweden, Germany, and Switzerland while participating in gospel festivals and concerts. He is married to Dr. Teresa Owens, general minister and president of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the US and Canada. Walter was recently appointed as the director of the Black Sacred Music Academy at Salem.

Aaron Wong holds degrees in music and in transformational leadership. His church music ministry experience over the past 14 years includes guitar, drums, bass, worship leading, songwriting, and conducting choir and orchestra, as well as audio engineering. Aaron is an active member of Maywood Free Church—Rockford, where he served as Pastor of Worship and Creative Outreach. Born and raised in Hong Kong, Aaron has given solo guitar concerts in England and Scotland and has also shared the stage with Keith and Kristyn Getty. Currently, Aaron is the owner of Aaron Wong Studio, giving private lessons and developing many young local musicians in the Rockford area. Aaron and his wife, Abbey, have four children.

Kazumasa Terashima came to the United States in 2006 after he worked for 10 years as a professional jazz musician in Tokyo, Japan. Settling down in Chicago, he has performed with numerous jazz musicians including Phil Woods, Benny Golson, Bob Lark, Yoko Noge, Jimmy Ellis, and John Watson. He studied trumpet (both jazz and classical) and earned a Master of Music degree from DePaul University and a Master of Divinity degree from Moody Theological Seminary. Kazumasa joined Moody’s One O’Clock Jazz Band in 2015 and became the band’s director in 2019.