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Winston-Salem Symphony Chorus presents oratorio 'Considering Matthew Shepard'

This month marks 25 years since Matthew Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming student, was kidnapped and brutally murdered.

The killing had a profound impact on composer Craig Hella Johnson, who responded with a modern-day oratorio called Considering Matthew Shepard. The work tells Matthew’s story through music, poetry, and choral singing.

Members of the Winston-Salem Symphony Chorus will join the Winston-Salem Symphony in a presentation conducted by Christopher Gilliam this Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. It will be performed at Wake Forest University’s Brendle Recital Hall.

WFDD’s Neal Charnoff recently spoke with Christopher Gilliam in the WFDD studios.

Interview highlights

On the tradition of composers using their works to transcend tragedy:

"I feel like, for all of us, musical themes identify a time, a place, an emotion, a sense of meaning. So for Craig to utilize these kinds of themes, there is a sense of kind of full circle-ness, that our lives today are really no different from theirs, the same prejudices, the same angry mobs, the same terrible ways in which we tend to deal with our misunderstanding. And so music reminds us of all of those things, but it also reminds us of that that is redemptive and beautiful."

On what this piece means to him personally: 

"I grew up in North Carolina as a gay boy who was closeted around a loving family and around loving people, but in an environment that preached that gay people would go to hell. So there is an internalized fear that goes with one throughout life. And to be able to bring this beautiful piece, this very redemptive work about what it means to the impact and the despicable nature of hate, for anyone who is different, or for whatever reason, it doesn't even have to be about orientation or sexuality. For me, as a conductor, to be able to finally stand on the stage and with confidence, present this material, with hope that it will inspire others who have also struggled ... that means a great deal to me as a conductor." 

On why Matthew's story resonates 25 years after his death: 

"I believe that so many years later, hopefully, what we bring home with the performance of this work, and with the understanding of its intent, is to say that humanity has these issues that we have to engage in, we have to recognize that there is peace, that there can be a resolution."

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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