May Festival: Festival Extra: Considering Matthew Shepard

Matthew Shepard, the victim of one of the worst anti-gay hate crimes in history, has inspired this oratorio by Grammy-winning conductor and composer Craig Hella Johnson. He conducts from the piano, incorporating a variety of musical styles with Matthew Shepard’s journal entries and other poignant texts. This transcendent work leads us to “a higher understanding of the human condition, enabling us to endure” (The Washington Post).