Regional Premiere VAE Music Director Craig Hella Johnson returns to conduct his own Considering Matthew Shepard, a musical response to the tragic death of a young man who has become an American icon and a symbol for hope and empowerment. Johnson has set a rich variety of texts by Lesléa Newman, Hafiz, Hildegard von Bingen, Michael Dennis Browne, and others. Several VAE singers will be featured as soloists, and the group will be joined by a small instrumental ensemble.