The recent book, Choral Music in the Twentieth Century by Nick Strimple, describes Lauridsen as "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 the questions have been answered...From 1993 Lauridsen's music rapidly increased in international popularity, and by century's end he had eclipsed Randall Thompson as the most frequently performed American choral composer." His works have been recorded on over a hundred CDs, three of which have received Grammy nominations, including O Magnum Mysterium by the New York-based ensemble, Tiffany Consort, led by Nicholas White, and two all-Lauridsen discs entitled Lux Aeterna by the Los Angeles Master Chorale conducted by Paul Salamunovich (RCM) and Polyphony with the Brtitten Sinfonia conducted by Stephen Layton (Hyperion).
Mr. Lauridsen (b. 1943) served as Composer-in-Residence of the Los Angeles Master Chorale from 1995-2001 and has been Professor of Composition at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music since 1972. A native of the Pacific Northwest, he worked as a Forest Service fire-fighter and lookout (on an isolated tower near Mt. St. Helens) before traveling south to study composition with Halsey Stevens and Ingolf Dahl. Mr. Lauridsen now divides his time between Los Angeles and his summer cabin on a remote island off the northern coast of Washington State. Further information regarding Mr. Lauridsen may be found at www.mortenlauridsen.com
In 2007, he was the recipient of the National Medal of Arts from the President in a White House ceremony, "for his composition of radiant choral works combining musical beauty, power and spiritual depth that have thrilled audiences worldwide." The National Medal of Arts is the highest award given to artists and arts patrons by the United States government.