Considering Matthew Shepard
2027-05-01 19:30 (America/Toronto) | Metropolitan United Church, 56 Queen St E, Toronto, ON, M5C 2Z3, Canada
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.
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