BEMIDJI — The Bemidji Symphony Orchestra’s concert season begins this weekend with an emotional work of art recognizing the 25th anniversary of Matthew Shepard’s consequential murder.
Beverly Everett, conductor and music director of the Bemidji Symphony Orchestra, joined Area Voices Friday, Oct. 6, to discuss the upcoming concert season, “A Love Song That No One Else Can Hear.”
Shepard, a 21-year-old gay college student attending the University of Wyoming, was kidnapped from a bar by Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson. They lured Shepherd into their truck, pretending to be gay themselves, and drove to the outskirts of Laramie, Wyoming.
There, they robbed and beat him with a pistol and tied him to a fence, leaving him to die. He was discovered 18 hours after the attack and taken to the hospital. He never regained consciousness, and he died five days later.
"I think there are love songs within music that no one else can hear."Conductor Beverly Everett
Shepherd’s death became one of the most well-known anti-gay hate crimes in American history. Composer Craig Hella Johnson was deeply moved and affected by this tragedy and chose to create a work of art in honor of Shepard’s story. The orchestra will perform “Considering Matthew Shepard” at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 8, at the Bemidji High School Auditorium.
Everett has been interested in bringing the composition to Bemidji since she first heard it in 2018 while watching the livestream of the interring of Shepard’s ashes at the Washington National Cathedral.
“I was so moved by the music. I thought it was truly some of the most beautiful music I had ever heard,” she said on the KAXE Morning Show.
This is the 85th anniversary of the Bemidji Symphony Orchestra. This year’s theme — “A Love Song That No One Else Can Hear” — was inspired by composer Max Wolpert, an alumnus of the Bemidji Symphony Orchestra. Commissioned to write a piece, Wolpert chose his theme based on the idea of whales playing love songs for each other that no one else can interpret.
“I think there are love songs within music that no one else can hear,” Everett said.
“The Matthew Shepard piece is also a love song. It’s a message of unity and hope and forgiveness inspired by Matthew’s parents, and it fits perfectly with that theme as well.”
The Bemidji Symphony Orchestra will also be performing with the Minot Chamber Chorale and Dakota Pro Musica, a relatively new professional choir.
The role of artistic director means Everett selects the music for the concert season, based on many factors. Sometimes it revolves around having a guest artist and a specific piece. Sometimes they get requests from composers and artists who want to perform their work in Bemidji. Sometimes finances play a role in decision-making.
“Programming is almost like being a professional chef I think, in deciding what ingredients to choose and what meal is going to be appropriate for what person,” Everett said.
The commissioned work from Wolpert and returning performers like cellist Eric Haugen and violinist Sadie Hamrin exemplifies the tightknit community at the Bemidji Symphony Orchestra.
"We're like a family and one of the joys of my being here for so long is getting to see the young people playing in our orchestra grow up and go off to do these exciting things,” Everett said.
“For the musicians to be a part of that is really wonderful for their souls. It's wonderful for their artistry, but I think also it's wonderful for their community and for the friendships that they make in it.”
As for what Everett hopes people take away from this concert season: “I hope that they experience the love that we have for what we do, and I believe that that's one of the gifts of the Bemidji Symphony is that people are in it because they love what they do. They love coming together to play music and that's contagious and it comes out to our audience.”
For more information about the upcoming Bemidji Symphony Orchestra concert season, visit the organization’s website.
Tell us about upcoming arts events where you live in Northern Minnesota by emailing psa@kaxe.org.
Area Voices is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.