Gracing San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral, k.d. Lang Brings It To The Bay
A once-in-a-lifetime experience took place this weekend atop the Nob Hill neighborhood of San Francisco as superstar k.d. Lang delivered a performance benefiting Tools For Peace. Leaving jaws dropped, skin goosebumped, and cheeks tear-stained, the crooner helped celebrate an evening layered with peace, positive vibes, kindness, and a voice that could blow the Ghiberti doors right off the cathedral entrance.
Not that the landmark Grace Cathedral isn’t gorgeous on its own merit for countless reasons–merely walking up the steps of the French Gothic masterpiece earlier that day was enough to get my heart racing. But once inside, racing transitioned to pounding as the familiar, velvety sounds of Lang’s voice traveled down the aisles from the altar as the crooner conducted a sound check. A few minutes later I had the awesome fortune of meeting k.d., whose peaceful aura, humble demeanor and rosy cheeks emitted gobs of good energy and (natch), grace.
And how befitting that a church renowned for the welcoming of people of all faiths and diverse backgrounds played host to an event for an organization such as Tools For Peace (TFP), whose mission reads: “To provide people of all ages and backgrounds with practical methods for cultivating compassion, peace, and well-being.” A match made in heaven–or at least on Nob Hill!
Just to the right of the altar was a breathtaking artwork display of brilliant color in the form of sand mandalas, the creation of which is a Tibetan Buddhist tradition taking many hours–days, actually–to complete. The mandalas are later destroyed to show the impermanence of material things, and then deposited into a nearby body of water (in our case, the Bay).
The weeklong collaboration between Bay Area students and Tibetan monks (who had traveled from Nepal) took place after the launch of TFP’s “Tools For Schools” program, which allows schools the opportunity to use the TFP curriculum within its existing 8th-12th grade framework. Children from Northern Light School in Oakland worked side by side with the monks to craft the beautiful sand mandalas, the dissolution of which took place the next day after a service.
k.d. performed with only a pianist for the first several songs, then was joined by the cathedral’s organist for a couple more. If there’s a phrase that could blend “belted out from the depths” and “sung like an angel,” I’d insert it here. All of the songs, but most notably Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, had a crowd-wide emotional effect that attempting to describe with words would be an embarrassingly feeble attempt at the impossible. Suffice it to say that even though there were 400 people in the audience, it felt like there were only three in the whole building: you, k.d., and, well…you know.
A delish dinner was served afterward for 250 guests, just downstairs below the cathedral. A live auction ensued, raising an incredible amount of money (totals unknown, but I’m here to vouch that there was some mind-blowing generosity in the room). Woo-hoo for TFP!
The monks got to take at least a bit of a break from all that focused sand mandala building. We hear they strolled over the Golden Gate Bridge, and also indulged in a tour of the Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory and quite enjoyed the product. Well-deserved!!
i just wanted to thank you for your article and photos. i’ve been a fan of hers and this project. i appreciate it and glad you enjoyed. it must have been wonderful the entire thing really.