The 2023/24 Ninth Season of the Cleveland Chamber Choir, Northeast Ohio’s leading professional choral ensemble, maintains its mission of presenting diverse and unique repertoire. This season kicks off with Craig Hella Johnson’s "Considering Matthew Shepard," commemorating the tragic events of October 6, 1998, when Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming, was brutally assaulted and left for dead. Johnson masterfully combines Shepard's journal, parental interviews, texts from Rumi and Hildegard of Bingen, and diverse musical styles. These performances, featuring the Lakewood Symphonic Mixed Choir under Rayna Brooks' direction, exemplify music's power to transcend tragedy.
