Considering Matthew Shepard

1375 Presidents' Circle,Salt Lake City UT 84112

19 February, 2022

Description

Anguish, remembrance, hope. The story of Matthew Shepard. Craig Hella Johnson’s masterful fusion oratorio, Considering Matthew Shepard, stands out immediately as one of the most original and innovative American works of the past several decades. Combining a remarkably broad range of musical styles, Johnson tells the heartbreaking, soul-shattering story of Matthew Shepard in powerful emotional and spiritual evocations that plumb the depths of anguish in order to seek greater understanding. Johnson has remarked that he created the work to explore a seemingly unanswerable question, “At the bottom of the suffering of this story, and among all of the suffering and death in the world, is the flame of love still present?” Join the Salt Lake Vocal Artists, soloists, instrumentalists, and audiovisual team as we explore better ways of understanding all people. The Salt Lake Choral Artists (SLCA) is one of America's premiere community choirs, continuing a tradition of superb choral singing that began as the Jay Welch Chorale more than thirty years ago. When Dr. Brady Allred was appointed as Artistic Director and Conductor in 2004, the group was reorganized to include a large concert choir of approximately 150 voices, and a women’s choir and chamber choir, each approximately 50 voices strong. In 2009, the group added a children's choir, a professional-level touring group was added in 2010, and youth and men's choirs were added in 2013.Dr. Allred's wealth of choral conducting experience, remarkable range of musical talent, and exceptional leadership has brought SLCA to a higher level of artistic excellence and generated new enthusiasm among choir members, serious interest from the media, and the attention of donors who recognize the importance of promoting quality performing arts in the area.