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Considering Matthew Shephard

Deeply moved by the murder of a young gay man, acclaimed conductor Craig Hella Johnson composed an evocative and compassionate musical response that leaves audiences hopeful and joyous. Austin’s own GRAMMY® award-winning Conspirare premiered the piece in 2016. It has now been performed by hundreds of choirs across the world, spreading the music’s message of compassion and understanding. Collaborating with the Matthew Shepard Foundation, Conspirare continues to offer artistic and technical assistance to choirs to continue to spread the work’s anti-hate message which is more relevant than ever.

”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 JohnsonComposer

About the Performance

‘This is about all of us.’ Matthew Shepard oratorio remains painfully relevant in 2024.

This three-part fusion oratorio speaks with a fresh and bold voice, incorporating a variety of musical styles seamlessly woven into a unified whole. Johnson sets a wide range of poetic and soulful texts by poets including Michael Dennis Browne, Lesléa Newman, Hildegard of Bingen and Rumi. Passages from Matt’s personal journal, interviews and writings from his parents Judy and Dennis Shepard, newspaper reports, and additional texts by Johnson and Browne are poignantly appointed throughout the work.

Conspirare’s 2-CD recording of Considering Matthew Shepard debuted at #4 on Billboard’s Traditional Classical Chart in 2016. Audiences describe this work as “brilliant,” “powerful,” “innovative,” “dazzling,” and “gripping.” The Bay Area Reporter wrote “it has the richness, depth and complexity to compel repeated hearing, and the power to get you the first time out,” and from The Washington Post: “’Considering Matthew Shepard’ demonstrates music’s capacity to encompass, transform and transcend tragedy. Powerfully cathartic, it leads us from horror and grief to a higher understanding of the human condition, enabling us to endure.”

Listen & Watch

Conspirare performing Considering Matthew Shepard:
Stream Complete Recording
Watch Specials:
World Premiere:
Watch Samples:

Upcoming Performances

December 7, 2025: The Grinnell Oratorio Society (Grinnell, IA)

December 9, 2025: De Anza Choir (vintage singers and chorale), De Anza Chamber Orchestra, Silicon Valley Gay Men’s Chorus (Cupertino, CA)

February 24, 2026: Northwestern State University Chamber Choir (Natchitoches, LA)

March 3, 2026: Seattle University Choirs + University of Washington Chorale & Chamber Singers (Seattle, WA)

March 13, 2026: Musica Atlantica (Savannah, GA)

April 25, 2026: River City Mixed Chorus (Omaha, NE)

May 19, 2026: Kalamazoo Choral Arts (Kalamazoo, MI)

Previous Performances

Craig Hella Johnson Conducts

2025

Corolux (Albuquerque, NM) October 12, 2025
Corolux (Santa Fe, NM) October 11, 2025

2024

Providence Singers (Providence, RI) March 9, 2024
Isabel Voices (Kingston, Ontario, Canada) March 16, 2024
Royal Leamington Spa Bach Choir (Warwick, Warwickshire, UK) March 16, 2024
The NC State Choral Artists (Raleigh, NC) March 23, 2024
Providence Singers (Providence, RI) March 23, 2024
Choral Artists of Sarasota (Sarasota, FL) April 14, 2024
Denison University (Granville, OH) April 20, 2024
UNI Concert Chorale (Cedar Falls, IA) April 20, 2024
First-St. Andrew’s United Church  (London, Ontario, Canada) April 21, 2024
TCU Concert Chorale (Fort Worth, TX) April 27, 2024
Concordia College Choral Program (Moorhead, MN) April 28, 2024
The Combined Choirs of Lebanon Valley College (Annville, PA) April 28, 2024
Anne Arundel Community College and AVAS (Arundel Vocal Arts Society) (Arnold, MC) May 17 & 19, 2024
Cantabile Choirs (Kingston, Ontario, Canada) May 25, 2024
Master Chorale of South Florida (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) May 31, 2024, June 1, 2024
Cheyenne Chamber Singers (Cheyenne, WY) June 1, 2024 & June 2, 2024
Orlando Sings (Orlando, FL) June 1 & 2, 2024
Capriccio Vocal Ensemble (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada) June 1, 2024
Capital Chamber Choir (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) June 7, 2024
eVoco Voice Collective (Malverne, NY) June 8 & 9, 2024
Vocale Neuburg (Götzis, Vorarlberg, Austria) June 14, 2024 *Austrian premiere
First Presbyterian Church of Galveston Music Department (Galveston, TX) June 29, 2024

April 2018

Craig Hella Johnson conducts at USC as presented by USC Voices and Visions: The Arts and Humanities Initiative, April 8, 2018. USC Visions&Voices program page

Craig Hella Johnson conducts the University of Southern California Thornton Chamber Singers in a special performance for the university community.

November 2017

Craig Hella Johnson conducts at the National Collegiate Choral Organization, 7th Biennial National Conference November 3, 2017

March 2017

Craig Hella Johnson with Conspirare singers Kathlene Ritch, Laura Mercado-Wright Matt Alber, David Farwig in a regional premiere with Cincinnati’s Vocal Arts Ensemble in collaboration with Cincinnati Opera. Gallagher Theatre at Xavier University, March 4 -5.

Craig Hella Johnson conducts the UGA Hugh Hodgson Singers at the University of Georgia School of Music. March 18.

Craig Hella Johnson conducts the Texas State Chorale and VocaLibre. March 30.

Performance History

October 2025

Texas Performing Arts, Bass Concert Hall (Austin, TX) October 3, 2024

Mann Center (Philadelphia, PA) October 10, 2024

September 2019

Command Encore Performance in the Pavilion in Chicago, IL, presented by The Ravinia Festival
Official Site

2018 National Tour

Performance at the Martin Theatre in Chicago, IL, presented by The Ravinia Festival

Performance at Festival Concert Hall, Fargo, ND. Presented as part of NDSU Choral Symposium Concerts

Performances in Los Angeles, CA at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, presented in association with Chris Issacson Presents
Click here for program PDF

February 2018

Performance at the Moody Performance Hall, presented by Dallas Museum of Art/Arts & Letters Live
Official Site

Performance at the Lied Center for Performing Arts, Nebraska
In partnership with Abendmusik

Performance at the Ford Center for Performing Arts, Oxford, MS
Official Site

Performance at the Mannoni  Performing Arts Center, Hattiesburg, MS

February 2017

Taping at Austin’s Moody Theatre for PBS special in partnership with KLRU. Now Airing Nationwide.

Performance at Berklee College of Music, Symphony Hall, Boston

January/February 2017

Performances at Rudder Theatre, Texas A&M University

April 2016

By exclusive arrangement, composer and conductor Craig Hella Johnson caps off his week-long residency with the Harvard University Holden Choruses with a Considering Matthew Shepard performance in Sanders Theatre. Craig Hella Johnson, Conductor.

February 2016

Semi-staged world premiere performances in Austin, TX, at WACDA Conference in Pasadena, CA, and at  First Congregational Church of Los Angeles. Recording session in Goshen, IN for Harmonia Mundi.

Matt Shepard Is a Friend of Mine, 2014 (documentary screening 1/31/2016): Filmmaker Michele Josue. Co-sponsored by Austin Film Society

June 2014

Workshop performance for the “comPassion” festival, Austin, TX. In this workshop version, Lesléa Newman’s October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard and Daniel Ladinsky’s rendering of Hafiz’s My Heart is an Unset Jewel  were prominently featured and sung by soloists and the ensemble. Featuring Conspirare singers Cameron Beauchamp, Dashon Burton, Dann Coakwell, Melissa Givens, Estelí Gomez, Carr Hornbuckle, Jos Milton, John Proft, and Kathlene Ritch. With slam poet Lacey Roop.

Collaborators

Authors

Production

  • Rod Caspers, Co-Producer and Co-Director 
  • Elliott Forrest, Co-Director and Projection Designer
  • Robert Harlan, Technical Director
  • Viera Buzgova, Stage Manager
  • Nomad Sound, Audio

Supporters

Conspirare wishes to thank our supporters who have given $500 or more to support the production of Considering Matthew Shepard.

  • Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation
  • Anonymous (2)
  • James Arth
  • Joyce & Ken Beck
  • Bill Bednar
  • Jeremy Bencken
  • Mark Bierner
  • Ginger & Michael Blair
  • Patti Troth & Richard Black
  • The Brimble Family, One Skye Foundation
  • Steve Brister
  • Chris Bussell
  • Margaret Murray-Miller & Carl Caricari
  • Chris & J. Dennis Cavner
  • Patricia & John Cherico
  • Catherine Clark
  • Fran & Larry Collmann
  • Eric Copper
  • Katelena Hernandez Cowles & James Cowles
  • Mary Crouch
  • Danna & Crutch Crutchfield
  • Mela Sarajane Dailey & Peter Bay
  • Carol & Chris Elms
  • Fetzer Institute
  • Sandy & Bill Fivecoat
  • Mary Nell Frucella
  • Evelyn & Rick Gabrillo
  • Karen & Paul Galindo
  • Dee Garcia
  • Glenda Goehrs
  • Cynthia Gonzales
  • Deena Graham
  • Danny Hamilton & Paul Hilliard
  • Lara & Robert Harlan
  • Richard Hartgrove & Gary Cooper
  • Jordan Herman
  • Marisa I. Hormel
  • Jack Leifer & Carr Hornbuckle
  • Jim & Mary Hornbuckle
  • Gary Jacobson
  • Beth & Greg Judd
  • Trish & Robert Karli
  • Kathleen Kinney
  • Tina & Dale Knobel
  • Angie & Steve Larned
  • Eric Leibrock & Ellen Justice
  • Cindy Libera
  • Life in the City
  • Emily Little
  • Alaire & Thomas Lowry
  • Thomas Lukens
  • Lee Manford & Casey Blass
  • Janet McCullar
  • Ruth & Bob McGregor
  • Sara McIntosh
  • Vance McMahan
  • Kathryn & Dave McNeely
  • Stefanie Moore & Todd Keister
  • National Endowment for the Arts
  • Linda & Paul Parrish
  • Nancy Quinn & Thomas Driscoll
  • Linda & Robert Ramsey
  • Susan & Jack Robertson
  • Linda Rowald & George Brown
  • Dan Seriff
  • Nancy Scanlan
  • Elizabeth & Duff Stewart
  • Bernadette Tasher
  • Kerry Tate
  • Sandi Aitken & Bob Tomlinson
  • Don Trapp
  • Jane & John Valenstein
  • Johanna & Mitch Vernick
  • Joni Wallace
  • Kathleen & Jim Wicoff
  • Julia & Patrick Willis
  • James Wood

Press

Interviews

Articles/Reviews

LGBTQ+

“

This performance stabbed me with the beauties of healing, love, and unified creation. This work lifts us to deal with imponderables and reminds us that human potentiality is the least understood and most squandered resource on earth. Too often we attach value to things man does, but not what man is. We have national anthems, but no anthems for humanity. Man’s achievements and power are heralded, but the preciousness of life is unsung. No longer… thanks to the artistry of Craig Hella Johnson and Conspirare.

Audience Member
“

Considering Matthew Shepard is by far the most intricate, beautiful and unyielding artistic response to this notorious anti-gay hate crime.

Jason MarsdenExecutive Director, Matthew Shepard Foundation
“

[A] powerful message of transformation and love. Brilliant!

Vance Y. GeorgeDirector Emeritus, San Francisco Symphony Chorus
“

Considering Matthew Shepard is, for all its rich range of text and musical language, most simply an act of love.

Shawn KirchnerComposer
“

A study in the human condition, our dark side and the light… powerfully important

Christopher CrossMusician
“

Considering Matthew Shepard offers up a unique chance brew of compassion, sorrow and even joy at a level of sophistication one rarely experiences.

Gregory HintonAuthor, Filmaker
“

To say that I was moved would be an understatement…

Peter BayMusic Director and Conductor, Austin Symphony
“

Craig Hella Johnson’s simple eloquence in making a tragedy transcendent is felt in every moment of this piece.

Evans MirageasArtistic Director, Cincinnati Opera
“

I was both deeply moved and very impressed… the emotional impact, the highest level of performance artistry, and [Craig Hella Johnson’s] mastery of every element of compositional craft.

Donald GranthamComposer, Professor, Butler School of Music, University of Texas at Austin
“

One of the most original and innovative American works of the past several decades.

Robert KyrComposer
“

It’s right up there with playing ‘Sisters of Mercy’ with Leonard [Cohen] in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam looking out at 3000 lighters waving… This is an important work that now has its wings.

Mitch WatkinsGuitarist
“

In this stunning masterwork, Craig Hella Johnson has achieved not only an elegant tribute to Matthew Shepard, but he has succeeded – like Philomena in Greek mythology – in transmuting vast pain into profound beauty.

Dorothy WaltersAuthor
“

Out there in the audience we knew we were experiencing something lifechanging – something beyond beautiful. Something timeless and precious. Something to be remembered the rest of our lives.

Audience Member
“

This work is a prism for refracting deep meaning and truth. It celebrates the noblest faculties of human life – the ability to share sorrow, create hope, and embrace human oneness and act upon it.

Audience Member
“

Thank you for digging so, so deep and sharing it with us. It awakened our most tender, troubled and hopeful places. Great art does that – holds the paradox, makes it visible – but it takes courage and determination to stay there until it’s rooted in our bones. I can tell it is part of you forever, now transformed, and I’m thankful that it is now part of me, as well.

Audience Member
“

The show was a study in the human condition, our dark side and the light.

Audience Member
“

Words and music have conveyed the agony of an innocent boy enduring the irrational hatred of those who tortured and killed him. It is the most outstanding Conspirare concert I have experienced – and I have been to almost all. Thank you and I hope the whole world experiences this incredible work of art.

Audience Member
“

I felt the pew shaking and realized it was my husband next to me trying to suppress his sobs. Wow!

Audience Member
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