CONSIDERING MATTHEW SHEPARD
BY CRAIG HELLA JOHNSON
Event Registration
"... in performance, 'Considering Matthew Shepard' emerged as a portrait of our times and a testament to the nature of hate...he was an 'ordinary boy,' as the libretto repeated, who met an extraordinary fate..." ~ Chicago Tribune
October 12, 2023 marks 25 years since Matthew Shepard's death. In remembrance of this historic and tragic anniversary, Choral Artistry is proud to perform an encore of Craig Hella Johnson's Considering Matthew Shepard on October 22nd at the Naples United Church of Christ. The three-part oratorio is about gay college student Matthew Shepard, who was beaten, tortured, and left to die in a 1998 hate crime.
“Matt Shepard and his story have led me on an inspiring, challenging and deeply meaningful journey that I continue to this day. In composing Considering Matthew Shepard I wanted to create, within a musical framework, a space for reflection, consideration and unity around his life and legacy.”
– Craig Hella Johnson, composer
“The work is loosely modeled after a Bach passion,” Dr. Brown says. “It takes texts from Matthew Shepard’s journal, and it takes interviews from Matthew’s parents and some clippings from some news articles, as well, and uses that as the libretto to tell the story of Matthew’s life and his untimely death and the legacy he leaves.
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This contemporary style musical has many moving parts and employs multiple musical styles and genres including gospel, classical, rock, country, Gregorian chant and others. This interplay of musical stylizations reflect on both the life and death of Matthew. For many marginalized in their communities due to sexual orientation, Matthew Shepard’s death pushed the abuses and acts of hate against the LGBTQ+AI community into the light.
Use of the word “considering” in the title allowed the composer to explore its definition throughout the work: “when all the good and bad parts of something are thought about.” This piece recognizes and celebrates Matthew’s ordinariness, his story, as well as the tragedy of his death. It explores how it could happen to “any one of us” or “all of us,” while also conveying the huge effect his death had on our culture, making it not just Matthew’s story, but potentially everyone’s story in a world where hate is unbridled and we try to find our way forward through understanding and compassion.
Location & Time
Sunday, October 22, 2023
4:00pm - 6:00pm
Naples United Church of Christ
5200 Crayton Rd
Naples, FL 34103
