More than a concert, Albany Pro Musica’s performance on Sunday was an extraordinary communal gathering and a cathartic experience. The program consisted of one work, Craig Helia Johnson’s “Considering Matthew Shepard,” a secular requiem for the 21-year-old gay man who was murdered out of prejudice and hate in Wyoming in 1998.
Music was the balm that prompted the effluence of tears in the darkened house and caused patrons to be lighter and stronger as they filed out into the sunshine. The scene on the sidewalks afterward felt like the end of a graduation ceremony, filled with smiles and hugs. Pro Musica’s Jose Daniel Flores-Caraballo, in his 10th year as artistic director, has become a visionary wiseman with a magic wand, conjuring greater empathy and joy in our community.
