The UW Chamber Singers and University Chorale collaborate with Seattle University Choirs (Leann Conley-Holcom, director) in performing Craig Hella Johnson's Considering Matthew Shepard, a staged oratorio of remembrance, resistance, and hope.
Content Warning: Some of the material in this show explores the attack, murder and death of Matthew Shepard. Other moments illustrate the hateful protests that happened at and around the time of his funeral.
Program
Considering Matthew Shepard
Craig Hella Johnson, composer
March 3, 2026 Meany Center for the Performing Arts, Katharyn Alvord Gerlich Theater, 7:30 pm
March 6, 2026 Pantages Theater, sponsored by NWACDA, 8 pm
Leann Conley-Holcom, Giselle Wyers, and Geoffrey Boers, conductors
Seattle University Chorale, Seattle University Chamber Singers and Seattle University Singers, University of Washington Chamber Singers, University of Washington Chorale
Seattle University Chamber Singers Prepared by Visiting Director Larke Witten
Guest Artists
Haitham Haidar as Matthew Shepard
Rod Caspers, Stage Director
Camilla Tassi, Projection Designer
Band
Koryn Orcutt, clarinet
Justin S Davis, guitar
Andrew Angell, percussion
Serena Chin & Ella Kalinichenko, piano
Evan Hjort, violin
Rick Neff, viola
Nicole Williams, cello
Ross Gilliland, bass
Considering Matthew Shepard
PROLOGUE
1- Cattle, Horses, Sky, and Grass
Giancarlo Agogliati (solo), Kyla Marshall, Ruby Thomas, Hope Onstad, Lauren Ghrist (soli)
2- Ordinary Boy
Ava Valentin, Larke Witten (Judy), Haitham Haidar (Matt)
3- We Tell Each Other Stories
Jaden Ritscher (solo)
PASSION
4- Recitation I
Joe Orlando (narration)
5- The Fence (before)
Danny Vizenor (solo)
6- Recitation II
Sam Henry, Priya Bhananker (narration)
7- The Fence (that night)
Scott Fikse (solo)
8- Recitation III
Priya Bhananker, Sam Henry, Joe Orlando (narration)
9- A Protestor
10- Keep it Away from Me
Jessica Thaxton (solo), Lauren Ghrist, Jenna Kober, Jenna Matsumoto, Jaden Ritscher, Maddie Rivera, Ava Valentin (sextet)
11- Recitation IV
Sam Henry (narration)
12- Fire of the Ancient Heart
Evan Norberg (solo), Tatiana Boggs, Gray Creech, Mari Hirayama, Nic Renaud, Chung-An Wang (percussion)
13- Recitation V
Priya Bhananker, Joe Orlando (narration)
14- Stray Birds
16- I Am Like You/We Are All Sons
Kyla Marshall, Tatiana Boggs, Giancarlo Agogliati, Evan Norberg (soli)
17- The Innocence
Michael McKenzie (solo)
18- Recitation VI
Priya Bhananker (narration)
19- The Fence (one week later)
Julianna Grabowski (solo)
20- Recitation VII
Sam Henry (narration)
21- Stars
Rik Lambey (Dennis)
22- Recitation VIII
Joe Orlando (narration)
23- In Need of Breath
Haitham Haidar (Matt)
25- Recitation IX
Priya Bhananker (narration)
26- Deer Song
Haitham Haidar (Matt), Hope Onstad, Helen Woodruff, Evelyn Jones (soli)
27- Recitation X
Sam Henry (narration)
28- The Fence (after)/The Wind
29- Pilgrimage
Ruby Thomas, Matthew Belshan, Adam Freemantle, Ava Valentin, Maddie Rivera, Sophia Orlando, Helen Woodruff, Tatiana Boggs, Mallak Attwa, Samara Chacko (soli)
EPILOGUE
30- Meet Me Here
Evelyn Jones (solo)
30b - Recitation XI
Priya Bhananker, Sam Henry, Joe Orlando (narration)
31- Thank You
Haitham Haidar (Matt)
32- All of Us
Julianna Grabowski, Heidi Blythe, Alex Rameau (soli)
33- Cattle, Horses, Sky, and Grass
Giancarlo Agogliati (solo)
A Note to Our Audience
With thanks to Tonya Ingerson, Safety & Well-Being Advocate
During this performance, you may notice a somatic (nervous system) response—felt in your breath, muscles or through other sensations. The following techniques can help reset your nervous system and keep you comfortable throughout the experience.
“Havening” techniques
Press and rub your palms together.
Glide your hands from your shoulders down your arms.
Touch anywhere on your face.
Rub in circles around your ears with “Spock” hands.
Other techniques:
Progressive muscle relaxation: Squeeze your arms and feet, inhale and hold, then release with your breath.
Box breathing: Inhale for 4 counts, hold for 4, exhale for 4, hold for 4; repeat.
5-4-3-2-1 method: Identify 5 things you see, 4 things you feel, 3 things you hear, 2 things you smell, 1 thing you taste.
Shake or stretch your body.
We encourage you to try any of these techniques as needed to stay grounded and engaged during the performance.
Program Note
Considering Matthew Shepard is a Grammy-nominated, three-part fusion oratorio by Craig Hella Johnson. Written in response to the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard—a young man targeted because of his sexual orientation, whose death became a national symbol in the struggle against hate—the work offers a space for remembrance, reflection, and shared humanity. Johnson draws upon the Passion tradition of Johann Sebastian Bach, blending chant, chorales, blues, gospel, and art song into a unified and compelling musical narrative.
The story unfolds through multiple perspectives: the Shepard family, community members, protestors, Matthew himself, and even the fence where he was left. The fence is personified through three soloists, giving voice to its life before the tragedy, the night it held Matthew, its transformation into a place of remembrance, and ultimately its own end. The choir functions, as in Bach’s Passions, both as commentator and participant—presenting the narrative while also serving as a collective voice of reflection.
Throughout the work, the refrain “This chant of life cannot be heard, it must be felt” underscores that the piece seeks not quick resolution, but consideration. It invites all of us to reflect on our shared values of life, grief, forgiveness, healing, and hope.
Johnson writes:
“Matt Shepard and his story have led me on an inspiring, challenging, and deeply meaningful journey that I continue to this day. In composingConsidering Matthew Shepard, I wanted to create a space for reflection, consideration, and unity around his life and legacy. Of course it’s very much about Matthew Shepard. But for me, this piece is really about us. Together, all of us, we actually can impact this. And that’s what I mean by: don’t leave it at the fence.”
The oratorio begins and ends with the image of “the lone cowboy who, with the wild roses, wants you to be free.” Framed by this benediction, the work invites listeners to dwell between tragedy and hope, and to receive the story as an opportunity to “sing for a change.”
Biographies
Geoffrey Boers
Geoffrey Boers is Director of Choral Activities and Professor of Music at the University of Washington Seattle, where he leads a nationally-recognized graduate choral program and conducts the Chamber Singers. Geoffrey loves working with choirs of all ages, and teaches nationally and internationally, most recently in Tallinn, Estonia, and Xi’an China. Geoffrey also conducts the Symphony Tacoma Voices.
Rod Caspers
Rod Caspers served as Executive Director of Creative Services for the University of Texas System, where he and colleagues earned five Lone Star Emmy Awards for the PBS series State of Tomorrow. He has taught and directed at the University of Wisconsin and the University of Texas at Austin. His credits include The Radio City Christmas Spectacular and Jim Henson’s Musical World at Carnegie Hall. He staged the original production of Conspirare’s Considering Matthew Shepard, including Trinity Wall Street. rodcaspers.com
Haitham Haidar
Haitham Haidar is a Lebanese-Palestinian Canadian tenor praised for his “memorably warm tone… a gripping communicator and charismatic musician” (Gramophone) and his “arresting warmth and lyricism” (Music Web International). His JUNO®-nominated debut album Zaytoun, exploring the intersection of Baroque and Arabic music, is available on streaming platforms and was named BBC Music’s Vocal Choice of the Month. Haitham is honored to share this story and stage tonight
Leann Conley-Holcom
Leann Conley-Holcom is Director of Choral Activities and Music Program Director at Seattle University, recognized for integrating vocal technique and embodiment practices and for curating bold, innovative choral collaborations. She is WA-ACDA College & University R&R Chair and co-founding director of the treble ensemble MUSING. An accomplished professional soprano, she has performed as a soloist with regional orchestras and at Carnegie Hall, and sings with True Concord (appearing on the Grammy-winning album Far in the Heavens), Evergreen Ensemble, and the Oregon, Seattle, and Tacoma Bach Festivals.
Camilla Tassi
Camilla Tassi is a NYC-based projection designer from Florence, Italy. Her work includes Falling Out of Time (Carnegie Hall), King Arthur (Lincoln Center, Juilliard415), Considering Matthew Shepard (Conspirare & Oregon Bach Festival), SEACHANGE (Miami City Ballet), Path of Miracles (The Thirteen), Adoration (Beth Morrison Projects & LA Opera), SANDRA (TheaterWorks Hartford), Alcina (Yale Opera), Ariodante (Boston Baroque), and Malhaar (Walt Disney Concert Hall, LA Master Chorale). She has sung with the NY Phil chorus and Yale Schola. She holds degrees in computer science, music, and projection design (Yale, MFA). Connecticut Critics Circle Award.
Larke Witten
Larke Witten is Visiting Director of Music for Seattle University’s Chamber Singers and Assistant Conductor for the Bellevue Nativity Messiah. A versatile conductor, soloist, and teacher, she has led ensembles from the Northwest Boychoir and University of Washington Treble Choir to regional and church choirs. She performed ten seasons as a founding member of the San Antonio Chamber Choir and sings with Choral Arts Northwest.
Giselle Wyers
Giselle Wyers is the Donald E Peterson Endowed Professor of Choral Music at University of Washington. She is also conductor of Concord Chamber Choir. Her choral works are featured in GIA's new compendium Choral Repertoire by Women Composers. Her Laban based approach to teaching conducting is at the center of her work at UW as well as in outreach presentations abroad, such as South Korea and London in 2025.
Thanks and Acknowledgements
Pigott Family Endowment for the Arts at Seattle University
Sommer Excellence in Choral Music Endowment in honor of Dr. Joy Sherman
Matthew Shepard Foundation
Ken and Sandy Schwartz
Dale and Margaret Largent
Joelle and David Keene
Joanne DePue
Cory Hiraiwa
Stefanie Fatooh
Paul Marenco
Tonya Ingerson, Safety and Well-Being Advocate
Michael McKenzie, Auxiliary Percussion Coordinator
UW Chamber Singers
Geoffrey Boers, Conductor
Serena Chin, Ingrid Verhulsdonk, Collaborative Pianists
Assistant Conductors: Tatiana Boggs, Nic Renaud, Michael McKenzie, Heidi Blythe, Julianna Grabowski, Helen Woodruff, Scott Fikse
Denotes Choir Cabinet *
Soprano 1
Hope Villarreal
Jaden Ritscher
Tyleen Stults
Jenny Green
Helen Woodruff
Soprano 2
Nandini Rathod
Mari Hirayama *
Julianna Grabowski-Porceng
Kyla Marshall
Alto 1
Katia Velit
Heidi Blythe
Emily Colombo
Tatiana Boggs
Lamey Appling
Alto 2
Ava Valentin
Lukas Hawkins
Alexandra Rameau
Maddie Rivera*
Jaminfaye Reduque
Tenor 1
Nicholas Renaud
Maggie Petersen
Caleb Strader*
Michael Lim
Vichet Ros
Tenor 2
Emmanuel Noyola-Juarez*
Gray Creech*
Julian Zhang
David Ferguson
Bass 1
Chung-An Wang
Jack Hawley
Thayden Boome
Adam Freemantle
Bass 2
Santiago Miranda-Marion
Michael McKenzie
Scott Fikse
Kyle Mahoney
UW Chorale
Giselle Wyers, Conductor
Serena Chin, Collaborative Pianist
Assistant Conductors: Julianna Grabowski, Nic Renaud, Helen Woodruff and Chung-An Wang
Denotes Section Leader *
Denotes Cabinet Member +
SOPRANOS
Tina Amrith
Elizabeth Brown*
Lauren Chenoweth*
Kirsten Conover
Aria Fowler
Sofia Groff
Mari Hirayama
Evelyn Jones
Tanushri Narendran
Sophia Peterson
Anya Riabov
Olivia Spaid
Hope Villarreal
Katelyn Wales
Jolee Zamira +
ALTOS
Mallak Attwa
Ariel Baldwin +
Juniper Blessing
Suwan Chambers
Samara (Sam) Chacko
Alexis Georgiades +
Lainey Graham +
Sydney Jordan
Leah Peterson
Alex Retteghieri
Maddie Rivera *
Jessica Thaxton * +
Anna Vu
Haley Westberg *
TENORS
Beau Bradney
Eric Gagliano
Braden Innes
Armour Johnson
Luis Javier
Michael Lim *
Colin Loerkhe
Liam Natarajan
Haoran Peng
Tyler Santos * +
Nick Seamons
DaShaundre Steele +
Caleb Strader * +
Luke Van Sickle
BASSES
Thayden Boome * +
Gray Creech *
Will Cummings
Mario D’Ambrosio
Luke Granger +
Jack Hawley
Will Henry +
Aidan Maynard
Gavin Morrow
Timon Nguyenphuoc
Paul (Pavlo) Orekhov
Felix Solem
Noah Tonneson
Robbie Troyan
Danny Vizenor * +
Seattle University Combined Choirs
Leann Conley-Holcom, Conductor
Ella Kalinichenko, Collaborative Pianist
Larke Witten, Visiting Chamber Singers Director
* Denotes Leadership Team
SOPRANOS
Sarah Brown
Lauren Ghrist *
Grace Ginaven
Sophia Hampton
Grace Haueisen
Sam Henry
Jenna Kober
Ava Lauer
Calia Lockey
Tira McGavin
Hope Onstad *
Sophia Orlando
Chloe Platt
Ginger Schreiber
Alana Taitague
Ruby Thomas
Rachel Williams
Joanna Wong
ALTOS
Mo (Sara) Afrasiabi
Mia Baumgartner
Priya Bhananker
Bonnie Bowie
Leslie Cea
Katrina Herzog
Ellie Lawrence
Jaylen Leonard *
Patty Lott
Soren Marclei
Jenna Matsumoto *
Kimaya Mehta
Madeleine Noreen
Miko Ouano
Sandy Renner
Randee Robinson
Kathleen Seymour
Susan Sommer
Larke Witten
TENORS
Giancarlo Agogliati *
Jessica Albert
Teddy Lofberg
Joe Orlando
Lucas Smith
Peter Ukrainetz
Doug Young
BASSES
Matthew Belshan
Cameron Chiao *
Maximo Glassman
Easton Harrel
Rik Lambey
Kendrick Mangmati *
Mitchie Vega
Miles Wahlstrom
Leo Winkler
Justyn Yap
Permissions and Credits
All music composed by Craig Hella Johnson © 2016
1. Cattle, Horse, Sky and Grass Compilation with additional text © Craig Hella Johnson / Please Come to Wyoming by John D. Nesbitt © by John D. Nesbitt. Used by kind permission. / Cattle, Horses, Sky and Grass by Sue Wallis © by Estate of Sue Wallis.
Used by kind permission. Quoting Prelude in C Major Book 1, Well-Tempered Clavier by J.S. Bach.
2. Ordinary Boy © Craig Hella Johnson / From The Meaning of Matthew, by Judy Shepard p. 206. / + I Love Poem by Matt Shepard © by Judy Shepard.
Used by kind permission
3. We Tell Each Other Stories © Craig Hella Johnson
5. The Fence (before)* Lesléa Newman
7. The Fence (that night) Material reproduced from Hildegard of Bingen from Symphonia: A Critical Edition of the “Symphonia Armonie Celestium Revelationum” (Symphony of the Harmony of Celestial Revelations), Second Edition, translated by Barbara Newman. © 1988, 1998 by Cornell University. Used by permission of the translator, Barbara Newman, and publisher, Cornell University Press. / The Fence (that night)* Lesléa Newman
8. A Protestor* Lesléa Newman / Additional italicized text by Craig Hella Johnson
10. Keep it Away From Me (The Wound of Love) by Michael Dennis Browne and Craig Hella Johnson © 2015 by Michael Dennis Browne and Craig Hella Johnson. Used by kind permission. / Gabriela Mistral
12. Fire of the Ancient Heart by Michael Dennis Browne and Craig Hella Johnson © 2015 by Michael Dennis Browne and Craig Hella Johnson. Used by kind permission. / ^Genesis 4:10 / #Rumi / ~William Blake. With thanks to Tom Burritt – percussion consultation and special arrangement
14. Stray Birds by Rabindranath Tagore
15. We Are All Sons (part 1) by Michael Dennis Browne © 2015 by Michael Dennis Browne. Used by kind permission.
16. I Am Like You/We Are All Sons (part 2) © Craig Hella Johnson
17. The Innocence by Michael Dennis Browne and Craig Hella Johnson © 2015 by Michael Dennis Browne and Craig Hella Johnson. Used by kind permission.
19. The Fence (one week later)* Lesléa Newman
21. Stars Lesléa Newman / Dennis Shepard Statement to the Court
22. In Need of Breath Hafiz lyrics from “In Need of the Breath” from the Penguin (New York) publication The Gift: Poems by Hafiz by Daniel Ladinsky. Copyright © 1999 Daniel Ladinsky and used with his permission.
23. Deer Song by Michael Dennis Browne and Craig Hella Johnson © 2015 by Michael Dennis Browne and Craig Hella Johnson. Used by kind permission.
24. The Fence (after)/The Wind* Lesléa Newman
25. Pilgrimage* Lesléa Newman
26. Meet Me Here © Craig Hella Johnson
27. Thanks “Even in This Rain” text by Michael Dennis Browne © 2019 by Michael Dennis Browne
28. All of Us by Michael Dennis Browne and Craig Hella Johnson © 2015 by Michael Dennis Browne and Craig Hella Johnson. Used by kind permission. / + from Divine Comedy, from the Paradiso by Dante, adapted by Michael Dennis Browne
29. Cattle, Horses, Sky and Grass (reprise) Cattle, Horses, Sky and Grass by Sue Wallis © by Estate of Sue Wallis. Used by kind permission. / Please Come to Wyoming by John D. Nesbitt © by John D. Nesbitt. Used by kind permission.
Recitations I-X compiled from news reports and crafted by Craig Hella Johnson and Michael Dennis Browne.
*All works authorized by Lesléa Newman are from OCTOBER MOURNING: A SONG FOR MATTHEW SHEPARD. Copyright © 2012 by Lesléa Newman. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA. Selections used by permission of Curtis Brown, Ltd. Copyright © 2012. All Rights Reserved.
Introduction
from OCTOBER MOURNING: A SONG FOR MATTHEW SHEPARD by Lesléa Newman
On Tuesday, October 6, 1998, at approximately 11:45 p.m., twenty-one-year-old Matthew Shepard, a gay college student attending the University of Wyoming, was kidnapped from a bar by twenty-one-year-old Aaron McKinney and twenty-one-year-old Russell Henderson. Pretending to be gay, the two men lured Matthew Shepard into their truck, drove him to the outskirts of Laramie, robbed him, beat him with a pistol, tied him to a buck-rail fence, and left him to die. The next day, at about 6:00 p.m. – eighteen hours after the attack – he was discovered and taken to a hospital. He never regained consciousness and died five days later, on Monday, October 12, with his family by his side.
One of the last things Matthew Shepard did that Tuesday night was attend a meeting of the University of Wyoming’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Association. The group was putting final touches on plans for Gay Awareness Week, scheduled to begin the following Sunday, October 11, coinciding with a National Coming Out Day. Planned campus activities included a film showing, an open poetry reading, and a keynote speaker. That keynote speaker was me.
I never forgot what happened in Laramie, and around the tenth anniversary of Matthew Shepard’s death, I found myself thinking more and more about him. And so I began writing a series of poems, striving to create a work of art that explores the events surrounding Matthew Shepard’s murder in order to gain a better understanding of their impact on myself and the world.
What really happened at the fence that night? Only three people know the answer to that question. Two of them are imprisoned, convicted murderers whose stories often contradict each other (for example, in separate interviews both McKinney and Henderson have claimed that he alone tied Matthew Shepard to the fence). The other person who knows what really happened that night is dead. We will never know his side of the story. This book is my side of the story.
While the poems in this book are inspired by actual events, they do not in any way represent the statements, thoughts, feelings, opinions, or attitudes of any actual person. The statements, thoughts, feelings, opinions, and attitudes conveyed belong to me. All monologues contained within the poems are figments of my imagination; no actual person spoke any of the words contained within the body of any poem. Those words are mine and mine alone. When the words of an actual person are used as a short epigraph for a poem, the source of that quote is cited at the back of the book in a section entitled “Notes,” which contains citations and suggestions for further reading about the crime. The poems, which are meant to be read in sequential order as one whole work, are a work of poetic invention and imagination: a historical novel in verse. The poems are not an objective reporting of Matthew Shepard’s murder and its aftermath; rather they are my own personal interpretation of them.
There is a bench on the campus of the University of Wyoming dedicated to Matthew Shepard, inscribed with the words “He continues to make a difference.” My hope is that readers of October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard will be inspired to make a difference and honor his legacy by erasing hate and replacing it with compassion, understanding, and love.
Considering Matthew Shepard was developed with the support of Consiprare. Please visit conspirare.org to learn more about this project and learn more about the many individuals and organizations who support this work. Conspirare, The Matthew Shepard Foundation, and KLRU-TV, Austin PBS are partnering to ensure that Considering Matthew Shepard reaches as many people as possible on the stage and screen.