Brandi Carlile's soulful vocals washed over the crowd of nearly 2,000 concert attendees as Strengthening Ties: Vanderbilt @ 150 brought the Sesquicentennial celebrations to a joyous conclusion for the entire university community on Sunday, Nov. 9, at The Pinnacle.
Backed by duo Chauntee and Monique Ross of SistaStrings, the Grammy Award-winning Carlile followed a fiery performance by fellow Grammy Award-winners Alabama Shakes, whose set opened an evening that honored the Sesquicentennial spirit of coming together as One Vanderbilt community.
"What we've learned during this time is if we come together, if we're authentically ourselves, we set our aspiration high, and we act together as One Vanderbilt, we can move mountains," Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said in his opening remarks to a crowd of faculty, students, staff, alumni and supporters. "Today is a moment to reflect. Tomorrow we'll go out and build the great university of the 21st century."
Since its founding in 1873 as an institution devoted to "strengthening the ties which should exist between all sections of our common country" and its official opening in 1875, Vanderbilt University has forged a tradition of academic excellence infused with a unique spirit of collaboration and collegiality. The university's mission lies in the quest to bring out the best in humanity-pushing new ideas into the frontiers of discovery, challenging the limits of what's possible and working diligently in the service of others. Vanderbilt's closely connected parklike campus, set in the heart of the rapidly growing city of Nashville, Tennessee, is representative of the enduring bonds that unite us as One Vanderbilt community.
The Nov. 9 concert honored the power of music as a unifying force to bridge divides, a tenet the university strives to uphold through respect for alternative views and voices and open dialogue. All the proceeds from the evening benefited the Nashville Urban Debate League, a local nonprofit dedicated to providing opportunities for high school students in the Metro Nashville Public Schools district to participate in competitive, research-based policy debate.
