Day 10 MoTab Tour ❤ Wednesday 27 June 2018 – Sonoma County, California
I slept in. Because I can. Mr. Mo is a morning guy, so he quietly sneaked out to explore, and brought me a delicious breakfast burrito from a popular place down the street he happened to discover.
Isn’t he a sweetheart?
He also took our large piece of luggage to the “Luggage Pull” for drop off. It will be returned on a semi-truck to Salt Lake City. We leave for Canada tomorrow, so we will not be checking luggage. We will all be living out of our carry-on for the next 6 days.
The Green Music Center
All Choir members boarded the buses at 12:15 PM to be taken to our concert venue. This time we headed north across the Golden Gate bridge to perform at Weill Hall at Sonoma State University. This unique theater is patterned very much like the Goldener Saal in Vienna, but with a modern twist; all wood, instead of all gold, and the large wall in the back of the hall opens up to lawn seating outside. Thus, it’s second name is “The Green Music Center”.
Cool.
The Streets of San Francisco
Meanwhile, all of the guests got to hang out in San Francisco until 4:00 PM. Mr. Mo went exploring through China Town, up to Coit Tower, and down through the financial district. Here is a sampler of his photos.
A Dedicated Concert
Tonight’s concert was dedicated to the victims of last year’s devastating wildfires.
In October 2017 the Tubbs Fire (named for Tubbs Lane where it started) was the most destructive wildfire in California history, burning parts of Napa, Sonoma, and Lake counties in Northern California. The fire began in the middle of the night and spread turbulently due to winds reaching 41 mph. Since most people were sleeping there was little time to escape, with many harrowing stories. Injury (both physical and emotional) were extensive, and ultimately 43 people lost their lives. There were more than a dozen large fires burning at one time in what was called the “Northern California firestorm“.
The fire incinerated more than 5,643 structures, including more than 2,800 homes in the city of Santa Rosa. Damage was estimated $1.2 billion, with five percent of the city’s housing stock destroyed. – Wikipedia
The city of Santa Rosa (where Mom & Dad served their first mission) was hardest hit. Entire neighborhoods were reduced to ashes. To fully grasp this devestation, watch this interactive drone footage.
Our Humble Offering
It was a touching concert to a sell-out crowd inside the hall (approx 2000 people), and another 1000+ people seated outside on the grass. Below is a nice video summary of our concert at Weill Hall.
Side Story: One day before the concert, choir member Paul Schaffer posted a plea on our Tab choir member page. Did anyone bring some CDs that we could donate to a man who had lost his entire treasured Mormon Tabernacle Choir collection in the fire? One by one choir members excitedly posted CD titles they had. Normally when I tour I only ever bring sampler CDs to share, but for some reason I had felt impressed to place a couple of full CDs in my suitcase. The Lord knew they would be needed! What an honor to be able to donate. In the video below you will see a moment when Paul presents all those CDs.
A Personal Connection
This was a very special concert for me to perform since there were people in the audience who personally knew me through serving with my parents in Santa Rosa. One of them was able to connect with me briefly during intermission.
This tour was planned three years before the firestorms happened in Northern California. What a tender mercy. I believe the Lord always knows in advance exactly where we are needed. To me this concert was a powerful testimony of God’s love for His children, and a beautiful blessing for me to play a small part. ♥ – MoSop
Latter-day Soprano 
Those scenes of devastation were really something. Those people’s lives were so torn apart. I’m sure hearing the Choir sing brought them some comfort. Sometimes we forget that our real lives aren’t made up of possessions, but the people around us. Nevertheless, it is hard to lose things that mean so much to us. I know how your music has affected me in some of the hard times in my life, and I’m sure the people of Santa Rosa were blessed as I was.
God Bless you and your fellow Choir Members for being willing to sacrifice your time and talents to bring healing to those in need. Love you, Lynne
LikeLike
I always feel like I receive much more than I can possibly give. But, when I hear how the music of the Choir has blessed and helped others, I am tremendously humbled that I get to be a literal instrument in the hands of God.
LikeLike