Saturday, May 6, at 7:30 pm and Sunday, May 7, at 3 pm. Both concerts are at South Church Hall on the campus of St. Johnsbury Academy. Admission is by donation.

Matthew Shepard was a gay student at the University of Wyoming in Laramie who, in October of 1998, was kidnapped, severely beaten, tied to a fence and left to die. Eighteen hours later, Shepard was discovered by a bicyclist. While he lay in a coma in the hospital on total life support, candlelight vigils were held in countries around the world. Six days later, Matthew Shepard succumbed to the trauma to his brain.

Craig Hella Johnson composed "Considering Matthew Shepard" , a three-part fusion oratorio, to explore his life, death, and legacy. The work speaks with a bold voice, incorporating a variety of musical styles seamlessly woven into a unified whole and uses a wide range of texts by poets including Hildegard of Bingen, Lesléa Newman, Michael Dennis Browne, and Rumi a well as passages from Matt's personal journal, interviews and writings from his parents Judy and Dennis Shepard, and newspaper reports throughout the work.

Shepard's murder prompted hate crime legislation at both the state and federal level. In October 2009, Congress passed and President Barack Obama signed into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, commonly called the "Matthew Shepard Act."

In this time when strife and violence related to gender and sexual identity continue to plague our culture, the North Country Chorus sings in the hope that the lessons of Matthew Shepard's story are not forgotten.

Mabel Houghton I'd be glad to help arrange carpooling. houghtonmabel@gmail.com

May 11, 2024, 10 AM to 2 PM

May 11, 2024, 10 to 11 AM

May 15, 2024, 5 to 7 PM