Outbeat Radio News

On May 18th, choirs from Napa Valley College and Napa High School will team up to perform “Considering Matthew Shepard.” This month, student members from both choruses talk about the oratorio and their experience learning and performing the music. We will also have all the details about how you can get tickets for the May 18th performance. “Considering Matthew Shepard is a Grammy-nominated three-part oratorio composed by Craig Hella Johnson. The work is an evocative and compassionate musical response to the murder of Matthew Shepard. On October 6, 1998, University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard was kidnapped, beaten, and left to die, in what became an infamous act of brutality, and one of America’s most notorious anti-gay hate crimes. Shepard’s murder ultimately led to the creation of the Matthew Shepard Foundation and provided a catalyst for legislation that expanded the definition of a hate crime to include sexual orientation. In 2009, Congress passed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes P