UF and FSU to hold unity gospel concert this weekend

Wearing T-shirts inscribed with the words “Our hands are lifted,” Florida State University’s and UF’s gospel choirs will harmonize in concert for the first time.

The two schools will hold a joint unity concert at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday at 7 p.m.

The concert will honor victims of racial violence and the local law enforcement officers who are working hard to build peace, said Sanethia Thomas, a chairperson for the event.

“I don’t know if it was in the midst of the events in Charlotte and Oklahoma, but it just came to me,” Thomas said.

The 36-year-old UF doctoral student and member of UF’s University Gospel Choir said this will be the biggest concert they have ever put on.

For the first act, UF will wear black T-shirts and FSU will wear white. During the second act, they’ll change into their respective school colors, and for the finale, members will move around onstage, creating a sea of orange, blue, garnet and gold.

“We needed a platform where we saw two opposing sides coming together, and I immediately thought of FSU,” Thomas said.

Brandon Christian Waddles, the director of FSU’s Gospel Choir, said music is called the universal language.

“Music in its own way crosses over all of those barriers,” Waddles said. “For that reason, music can be used to solve world peace if used effectively.”

Tickets are free and available at the Phillips Center.