'Considering Matthew Shepard' on Access Utah

By Tom Williams

Published November 4, 2026 at 11:45 AM MST

An illustration of a field with a spotlight shining into it. Considering Matthew Shepard, composed and conducted by Craig Hella Johnson.

On Nov. 8 the Cache Valley Interfaith Choir will perform Craig Hella Johnson’s oratorio "Considering Matthew Shepard," which reflects on the life, tragic death, and enduring legacy of Matthew Shepard, the University of Wyoming student who was beaten, tortured, and left to die near Laramie in October 1998.

We talk with Judy Shepard, board chair and president of the Matthew Shepard Foundation; Randy Wellbaum, artistic director, and Randy Jensen, managing director of the Cache Valley Interfaith Choir; and Ronda Browning, president of Logan Pride.

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Tom Williams

Tom Williams worked as a part-time UPR announcer for a few years and joined Utah Public Radio full-time in 1996. He is a proud graduate of Uintah High School in Vernal and Utah State University (B. A. in Liberal Arts and Master of Business Administration.) He grew up in a family that regularly discussed everything from opera to religion to politics. He is interested in just about everything and loves to engage people in conversation, so you could say he has found the perfect job as host “Access Utah.” He and his wife Becky, live in Logan.

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