Considering Matthew Shepard

In this performance

Considering Matthew Shepard by Craig Hella Johnson

On the music

As global challenges to LGBTQ+ rights intensify, Craig Hella Johnson’s Considering Matthew Shepard stands as a profoundly relevant and moving work. Performed by the Toronto Mendelssohn Singers, this 21st-century secular passion reflects on love, loss, and the enduring human capacity for compassion.

The oratorio reflects on the life and tragic death of Matthew Shepard, whose 1998 murder became a catalyst for LGBTQ+ advocacy. Blending classical, jazz, and folk influences with texts drawn from poets, mystics, historical sources, and writings connected to Shepard’s life—including a brief excerpt from his own correspondence—the work creates a powerful space for reflection and remembrance. Presented in a semi-staged performance, it offers a poignant call for empathy, compassion, and understanding.

Subscribe & Save