Divine Rhythms: Jazz and the Sacred
Recently, Dean Pierce served as the moderator for “Divine Rhythms: Jazz and the Sacred” at Vanderbilt’s new location in Chelsea, NYC.
It was an evening of conversation and music as artists, theologians, and musicians explored the influence of spirituality on the development of jazz and the meaning of sacred elements within the jazz tradition.
Dean Pierce spoke of the evening, "Just as jazz music is an interplay between harmony and dissonance, VDS is a beautiful embodiment of the shifting interplay between the sacred and the secular: a professional training ground for ministry and a home for the academic study of religion, embedded into a research-intensive university environment."
This event was part of a series, Vanderbilt in the City: Conversations on America, hosted at Vanderbilt University–New York City, 440 W. 21st St., in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. Learn more about Vanderbilt University NYC events here.
- Panelists:
- Robbie Fry, Principal Senior Lecturer of Musicology and Ethnomusicology, Blair School of Music, Vanderbilt University
- Eric Thomas, Assistant Professor of Bible, General Theological Seminary
- Buck McDaniel, Artist-in-Residence at The General Theological Seminary; Director of Music at the Church of Our Saviour, Murray Hill and Chapel of the Sacred Hearts, Kips Bay
- Moderator: Yolanda Pierce, Dean of the Divinity School; University Distinguished Professor of Religion & Literature; University Distinguished Professor of African American & Diaspora Studies, Vanderbilt University
- Performance: Live jazz ensemble featuring students from Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music
