On Oct. 6, 1998, a 21-year-old gay man, Matthew Shepard, was beaten, tortured and crucified on a fence outside Laramie, Wyoming. When he was found, he was in a coma and died six days later. Shepard’s assailants were subsequently convicted of his murder and seated to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The murder was a nationwide scandal, shocking people from coast to coast. Composer Craig Hella Johnson learned of Shepard’s murder from a colleague he was working with at the time, being as shocked as many people were by the barbarity of the crime.
“It never stopped haunting me,” Johnson said about the emotional impact the crime had on him.
This led Johnson to begin work on the dramatic choral piece “Considering Matthew Shepard.” Its latest iteration will be performed at the Mann Center on Oct. 10, reconceptualized by local directors Jay Fluellen and Rollo Dilworth, who will conduct the Grammy-winning vocal ensemble Conspirare from Texas. Conspirare will be joined on stage by hundreds of local singers—and the audience—in what is intended to be a fully immersive experience.
By 2013, Johnson began work in earnest on the project. The piece was workshopped in June 2014 before having its premiere in Feb. 2016. It then had performances at numerous venues across the country. During the creative process, Johnson was able to enlist the help of Shepard’s parents, Dennis and Judy Shepard, who were reticent at first, but eventually became strong supporters of Johnson’s efforts, even granting him access to Shepard’s journals.
“Matt Shepard and his story have led me on an inspiring, challenging and deeply meaningful journey that I continue to this day,” Johnson said in a written statement. “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.”
Since 1998, Matthew’s story has inspired numerous cultural and artistic works, the most famous being the stage play “The Laramie Project,” which was eventually adapted to television in 2002.
“I was absolutely inspired by ‘The Laramie Project,’” Johnson admitted. “It was very inspirational.”
While “The Laramie Project” may have been inspired by the same tragic events as “Considering Matthew Shepard,” Johnson’s vision is very much his own. He has drawn from texts by poets including Hildegard of Bingen, Lesléa Newman, Michael Dennis Browne and Rumi as well as passages from Shepard’s personal journal, interviews and writings from his parents, newspaper reports and other sources.
In the end, “Considering Matthew Shepard” is Johnson’s call for acceptance and perseverance in the face of tragedy.
“It’s very personal to me,” he says. “This is something I had to do for myself. From my heart.”
A Conversation with Judy & Dennis Shepard Honoring Matthew Shepard’s Legacy in the LGBTQ+ Community & Beyond will be held at 4 p.m. on Oct. 9 at William Way LGBT Community Center, 1315 Spruce St. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit https://manncenter.org/events/2024-10-09/judy-dennis-shepard. Tickets for “Considering Matthew Shepard” are currently sold out.
