Considering Matthew Shepard
by Craig Hella Johnson
Saturday, February 29, at 7:30 pm in Walnut Creek
Sunday, March 1, at 4:00 pm in Oakland
Saturday, March 7, at 7:30 pm in Kensington
Matthew Shepard, the Wyoming teenager who became a national figure after he was beaten and left for dead for being gay in 1998, has inspired plays, documentaries and books. He is the subject of this newly written 95-minute extended work entitled Considering Matthew Shepard that explores his life, death and legacy. Composer Craig Hella Johnson, Director of Austin choir Conspirare and former Director of San Francisco’s own Chanticleer, features lyrics taken from Shepard’s writing well as dark passages about the group that picketed his funeral. “The piece actually became a whole lot more than just the story of the suffering,” Johnson said. “It needed to become this larger invitation to return to love. And to return to remember who we are as human beings, in the deepest sense of our essence."
Watch the performance video featuring highlights from the world premiere of Craig Hella Johnson's "Considering Matthew Shepard here.
Purchase tickets here!
Tables & Tickets
Make plans now to join us in honoring David Morales on Sunday, April 19. Enjoy a delicious array of catered savories, sweets and sips and musical entertainment provided by Cascada de Flores! Advance ticket and table purchase required. The deadline for ticket purchase is April 5. Please click here to purchase a Reserved Table of 10 or individual tickets for this event.
Dedications
Support Cantare Con Vivo with a written dedication or other short statements in David’s honor. Your statement can be a sentence, brief phrase, or quote. It will be printed in the Celebrate! dedication program booklets. Click here to download.
Paddle-Raise for the Children
Pledge your gift of support in honor of our award-winning Children’s Music Programs.
Mystery and Majesty!
Chamber Ensemble
Saturday, March 28, at 7:30 pm - St. Perpetua Church in Lafayette
Sunday, March 29, at 4:00 pm - St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Oakland
The Chamber Ensemble will present Swiss composer Frank Martin’s exquisite “Mass for Double Choir. Without question, this is one of the most beautiful settings ever written, employing independence from its eight vocal lines offset with sections of lush double choir antiphonal writing. Also featured will be Ešenvalds’ “Only in Sleep,” “The Old Church” by Paulus, and other works by Anders Ohrwall, Randall Stroope and Billy Joel. Click here for tickets.
Celebrate! David Morales
50 Years of Uniting Voices
Make plans now to join us in honoring Artistic Director and Founder, David Morales on Sunday, April 19 in Pleasant Hill. Enjoy a delicious array of catered savories, sweets and sips and of course musical entertainment! Click here to learn more.