Shining Night: A Portrait of Morten Lauridsen

Musicologist and conductor Nick Strimple calls Morten Lauridsen “the only American composer in history who can be called a mystic, (whose) probing, serene work contains an elusive and indefinable ingredient which leaves the impression that all questions have been answered.” Lauridsen is known as the most-often-performed American choral composer.  He lives for long stretches on a secluded island in the San Juan Archipelago, located off the shores of Washington State.  Lauridsen is a National Medal of Arts recipient.