Outbeat News In Depth Greg Miraglia

On May 18th, choirs from Napa Valley College and Napa High School will team up to perform “Considering Matthew Shepard.” This month, student members from both choruses talk about the oratorio and their experience learning and performing the music. We will also have all the details about how you can get tickets for the May 18th performance.

“Considering Matthew Shepard is a Grammy-nominated three-part oratorio composed by Craig Hella Johnson. The work is an evocative and compassionate musical response to the murder of Matthew Shepard. On October 6, 1998, University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard was kidnapped, beaten, and left to die, in what became an infamous act of brutality, and one of America’s most notorious anti-gay hate crimes. Shepard’s murder ultimately led to the creation of the Matthew Shepard Foundation and provided a catalyst for legislation that expanded the definition of a hate crime to include sexual orientation. In 2009, Congress passed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Composer Craig Hella Johnson had a profoundly personal reaction to both the murder and its resonance. The Shepard family and Foundation engaged with Johnson in the creation of the work, and allowed the use of fragments from Shepard’s personal diary.”



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Considering Matthew Shepard

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This month we talk with Jacob Stensberg, the almost-new artistic director and conductor of the San Francisco Gay Mens Chorus.  Jake is has been with the chorus now for almost two years and has already began sharing his vision for the next generation of this world-famous chorus. If you’ve been to the Green Center for the annual holiday show supporting Face to Face within the last two years, you’ve already seen him in action. Jake will share his personal story, some music, and some exciting news about what’s in store for the chorus this year.



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San Francisco Gay Mens Chorus

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This month we continue our look at some of the issues at stake in this year’s election cycle and the upcoming initiative on the November ballot to remove the language in California’s Constitution put there by Proposition 8 back in 2008, defining marriage as being between one man and one woman.  The vote is not a “slam-dunk” and the LGBTQ+ community needs to be aware and involved in this issue. My guests this month include Alex “Lex” Lazar, an activist and long-time marriage equality advocate, and Robert Shine from New Ways Ministry, a gay Catholic organization. We’ll learn more about the Pope’s recent approval of a “blessing” for same-sex relationships.



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Lex Lazar

New Ways Ministry

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We start the new year looking ahead to the November election and at some of the critical issues facing the most risk. We begin this month with HIV/AIDS. Jirair Ratevosian has spent his entire career working on the political side of the pandemic. Jirair was appointed by President Biden as the most senior Armenian American official at the State Department; served as legislative director to Congresswoman Barbara Lee; was a grassroots community organizer and activist; and worked in the private sector. A product of the school system in Los Angeles, he graduated from UCLA and has a doctoral degree in public health from Johns Hopkins.



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Learn more about Jirair Ratevosian

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October marked 25 years since the murder of Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming. Since that time, Judy and Dennis Shepard have lead the Matthew Shepard Foundation. This month on Outbeat News In Depth we will share highlights from this year’s 25th commemoration which took place in Denver, Colorado. We’ll share the comments from honorees Chasten Buttigieg and Billy Porter.  We also talk with singer song-writer Randi Driscoll about her remake of “What Matters,” the song she wrote 25 years ago about Matthew Shepard.





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Matthew Shepard Foundation

Randi Driscoll

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This month we introduce you to some of the new leadership at Positive Images, Sonoma County’s oldest LGBTQ+ youth organization. “Positive Images is a grassroots nonprofit organization serving Sonoma County since 1990. Our LGBTQIA+ Community Center hosts multiple weekly support groups, a youth leadership development program, mentorship opportunities, an LGBTQIA+ Library, resource and referral station, and a Transformation Station. We’re proud to offer a warm, welcoming, and affirming environment for young people to explore their individual identities, develop leadership skills, and contribute to our collective community. Positive Images staff lead LGBTQIA+ Cultural Competency Trainings and presentations that educate the greater community focusing on human connection, compassion, and inclusion. We envision a Sonoma County where all LGBTQIA+ people are valued, compassionate community members, creating a just society.”



We also feature a special song commemorating the 25th year since the murder of Matthew Shepard.  Singer-songwriter Randi Driscoll remastered her original tribute to Matthew, “What Matters.”

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Positive Images

Randi Driscoll

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