Events to commemorate 20th memorial of Shepard murder

He was found 18 hours later and taken to Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado, where he died from severe head injuries six days later without regaining consciousness.

Henderson and McKinney were arrested soon after and charged with first-degree murder. In 1999, they were each sentenced to two consecutive life terms.

Shepard, who grew up in Casper but attended high school overseas, moved to Laramie to study political science. Friends and family described him as friendly, sensitive and optimistic.

Shepard was openly gay, and his sexual orientation was considered a motivating factor in the murder, spurring anti-gay protests during the trials and inspiring numerous artistic reflections on his life and death.

Emily Monago, co-chair of the Matthew Shepard Memorial Group and Chief Diversity Officer at UW, said the group is hoping the memorial events will promote discussion and reflection across Laramie.

“We want to remember the legacy of Matthew Shepard, to celebrate his life and to celebrate inclusion and that we feel that all social identities can thrive and belong here,” she said.

Headlining the weekend’s events is a choir concert by Austin, Texas-based Conspirare at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Laramie High School, 1710 Boulder Drive. The group will be performing “Considering Matthew Shepard,” which was written and will be directed by composer and choir director Craig Hella Johnson.

The performance is free, but tickets are required. Tickets are available at the Buchanan Center for Performing Arts Box Office, by calling 766-6666 or at www.uwyo.edu/finearts. There is a limit of two tickets per person. Overflow seating with monitors will be provided in the LHS commons area.

Nicole Lamartine, director of choral activities at UW, has been working for a couple years to arrange the performance. She said Johnson was inspired to compose the piece after visiting Laramie in 2012 for a different choral production.

“When he came to Laramie, that was the point at which he decided he had an artistic response to the murder, and an artistic response that would hopefully elicit a hopeful change in how humans interact with each other,” she said.

Johnson, who often works to blend music and poetry in his works, said Shepard’s story has led him on a “challenging and deeply meaningful” journey.

“In composing ‘Considering Matthew Shepard,’ I wanted to create, within a musical framework, a space for reflection, consideration and unity around his life and legacy,” he says in a news release.

Conspirare is a Grammy-winning group composed of soloists from across the country. “Considering Matthew Shepard” is a three-part oratorio, and the Laramie stop is part of a national tour. The Laramie performance is the only one free to the public.

“Because it happened here, and because it is such a special musical experience, we wanted everybody to have the opportunity to come, whether or not they could afford it,” Lamartine said.

A group of 38 singers will be coming to Laramie, along with a sizeable entourage from Austin and from the Shepard Foundation in Denver.

Lamartine described “Considering Matthew Shepard” as “the most impactful piece of music I have ever experienced.” The three-part piece draws from a variety of textual sources, opening with a request to the listener to be open to the story. The second part recalls the facts of the story, while the third part asks what can be done to learn from the murder and move forward.

“Craig does an amazing job of matching the intent of the text to the intent of the music, and it’s a real cohesive musical journey in three parts,” she said.

Following the performance, a talk-back is scheduled, with panelists to include Johnson, Shepard Foundation Executive Director Jason Marsden and Shepard’s father, Dennis. Rep. Cathy Connolly will moderate the discussion.

Other events organized by the Matthew Shepard 20th Memorial Group include a choral performance, “Angels,” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts Concert Hall. Admission is free.

“Angels,” featuring singers from the UW Collegiate Chorale, Laramie High School and Laramie Middle School, focuses on a group called Angel Action, whose members dressed in oversized angel costumes outside the Albany County Courthouse to block anti-gay protesters during the trials of Henderson and McKinney.

Two participants, Jim Osborn and Nichol Bondurant, will share their recollections of the demonstration.

Lamartine said first-hand accounts would be important for students to hear because today’s students didn’t witness what happened in Laramie 20 years ago.

“They just don’t know about Matthew Shepard and what his murder means for how they interact with people now, 20 years later,” she said. “I think they enjoy an acceptance and an awareness that we didn’t have 20 years ago.”

At 2 p.m. Friday in the Buchanan Center Thrust Theater, there will be a free staged reading of the words of Rulon Stacey, who was the Poudre Valley Hospital CEO in 1998 and who made an emotional statement as he announced Shepard’s death. The reading was adapted from the Oral History Collection of the Wyoming State Archives.

A special edition of UW’s Saturday University is scheduled for 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturday in Room 129 of the UW Classroom Building. Doors open at 8:30 a.m., and coffee and donuts will be served.

The session includes three talks focusing on aspects of Shepard’s murder and aftermath. At 9 a.m., Sheriff Dave O’Malley, who led the murder investigation, will talk about the details of the crime and legal repercussions.

At 10:15 a.m., a panel composed of community members will discuss the effect of Shepard’s death on students and Laramie residents, while also discussing the community response.

A third talk, set for 11:30 a.m., is about the development of “Considering Matthew Shepard.” The panel includes Johnson, Marsden, a Conspirare artist, and librettist Michael Dennis Browne, who collaborated with Johnson in writing the text.

From 6:30-8 p.m. Oct. 12 at the ASUW Student Memorial Plaza, a candlelight vigil is scheduled to remember the day of Shepard’s death. The plaza is located between Half Acre Recreation and Wellness Center and Prexy’s Pasture.

The vigil, organized by the UW United Multicultural Council and UW Spectrum, is set to remember Shepard and others in the LGBTQ+ community who have been hurt or killed.

A screening of “Matthew Shepard Is a Friend of Mine,” followed by a panel discussion, is scheduled for 7 p.m. Oct. 25 at Albany County Public Library, 310 S. Eighth St. The film focuses on remembering Shepard away from the news headlines.