On Friday at 7:30 pm, "Considering Matthew Shepard" will be performed at Westminster Presbyterian Church. Shepard, an openly gay 21-year-old college student, died in 1998 after he was beaten and tied to a fence in Wyoming. Garrett Martin, Organist and Director of Music at the church, recalls many of the details. He was 12 at the time.
"I remember that feeling, growing up in a conservative Southern Baptist family in a small town in Tennessee. I remember the silence that sat in our living room that night when that story was on TV," Martin shared.
"The silence told me I couldn't be a certain way, that I couldn't ask questions. That, perhaps, my conservative family thought that this was justice for this young man."
Composed by Craig Hella Johnson, "Considering Matthew Shepard" will be performed in the region for the first time, said Martin who refers to the piece as "a fusion oratorio," that will mix jazz, blues, rock, folk and classical music.
"One of the interesting things as well is that it blends poetry, Matthew's own writing from his journal, and other texts."
The performance will be a collaboration of the Choir of Westminster Presbyterian Church, chamber orchestra and the Choir of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church.
"We want to portray this music with integrity."
An LGBTQ+ panel discussion will precede the concert. Starting at 6:30, the group will include Gi Swords of GLYS, Rob Strauss of the Buffalo Gay Men's Chorus and David Butler of the Buffalo Niagara Proud Alliance. Matthew Shepard's father, Dennis Shepard, will be available during a talk-back session via zoom following the performance.
When asked how attitudes may have changed since Shepard's death, Martin was forthcoming.
"The more things seem to change, the more they stay the same," as he reflected on the murder of Sam Nordquist. The 24-year-old transgender man from Minnesota, authorities believe, was tortured for over a month before his death in the Finger Lakes area.
"I know that at Sam's murder that a lot of attention turned to Matthew Shepard because the details were so unsettlingly similar in the last days that they both had."
Martin acknowledges rehearsing "Considering Matthew Shepard" has evoked powerful emotions. He believes that will be transferred into a memorable performance Friday night at Westminster Presbyterian Church.
"I carried Matthew's story with me. And it became a reason to live with courage and compassion and really encouraged me to find a faith that includes everyone and doesn't exclude people."
