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Conspirare has toured
Considering Matthew Shepard
to several universities, including Ole Miss earlier this year.
The oratorio includes texts from Shepard’s journal not only in its libretto, but also in onstage projections.
integrity and accessibility. I had an
advantage in that I was not labeled early
on as a composer, so I didn’t have pres-
sure to see what my ‘voice’ was. I tried to
serve this story, and I tried to honor that
in the musically pluralistic world we are
living in, having grown up with the iPod
shu e becoming everybody’s norm. So
nothing I do here is unusual in terms of
how people listen. It is maybe unusual in
the concert hall for purists, but I wanted
to preserve a naturalness.
“ is may sound unusual, but when-
ever I had ego involved in the com-
position and would think maybe this
would be clever or this would make an
impression—when I felt that coming up,
I would think, no, I am going to try to
avoid self-interest. I just want the story
to be told. I had a real hope that this
would honor Matt Shepard.”
Getting the oratorio on its feet was
an emotional time for all involved. “ e
story is a lot to hold. To ask a row of ten-
ors and basses to sing those awful words
in the movement “A Protestor”—‘ e
only good fag is a fag that’s dead’—those
were challenging things. I was incred-
ibly moved by the singers’ dedication
in bringing this forth. It was one of the
most extraordinary experiences of my
life, and I still feel it today. e way they
have carried this with such care is be-
yond what I can ever adequately express
my thanks for.
“I love the experience of this piece.
Every bit of investment I made has been
paid back by the connection with the
singers, and particularly by the audi-
ence. e response has been beautiful. I
think of the LGBTQ things, but for me
this is a larger consideration. is pro-
jection we do, this pushing out against
that which we are fearful of, this way we
distance ourselves from one another,
that is just a human trait. I am moved
that people are receiving this beyond
just the LGBTQ aspect; that it is a re-
membrance of who we are more deeply.”
Although Johnson has attend-
ed Ravinia as a “happy listener,” this
performance of
Considering Matthew
Shepard
marks his formal festival debut.
“I feel so fortunate to be coming there at
all with my cherished colleagues in Con-
spirare
,
but to be coming to share this
piece is beyond special. I think people
are naturally a little fearful of a concert
about Matthew Shepard and fear it will
be a downer. But I think that presenting
this piece at Ravinia is also an invitation
for them to contemplate their own story.
And it is actually a piece that o ers a
great deal of hope. We always leave the
experience, audience and singers alike,
li ed up and joyous. is has been a
remarkable aspect.”
Visitors to the University of Wyo-
ming can nd a bench on campus ded-
icated to Matthew Shepard, inscribed
with the words “He continues to make
a di erence.” He does, whether through
the intense conversation I had with a
pair of strangers on an airplane or in the
creative consciousness of an artist like
Craig Hella Johnson.
“I o en refer to Judy and Dennis as
‘warriors for love.’ ” Johnson’s tone is
gentle, yet resolute. “I am putting a stake
in the ground that I want to lay claim
to that myself. Not that I do that in any
shape or form like they do. But I de -
nitely claim that whatever I am partici-
pating in, whether it’s a concert of Bach
motets or
Considering Matthew Shepard,
I hope it can be an o ering to create an
expansive experience that can help us to
wake up and come home to ourselves, to
understand ourselves more deeply, and
to love one another.”
Mark Thomas Ketterson is the Chicago correspondent
for
Opera News
. He has also written for the
Chicago
Tribune
,
Playbill
,
Chicago
magazine, Lyric Opera of
Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, and Washington
National Opera at the Kennedy Center.
MARLEE CRAWFORD/UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI
SEPTEMBER 3, 2018 – MAY 11, 2019 | RAVINIA MAGAZINE
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