Morten Lauridsen, composer

Born: February 27, 1943, in Colfax, WA

Began his association with the LAMC: in 1985 when Roger Wagner conducted his Mid-Winter Songs on Poems by Robert Graves at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

Was the LAMC composer-in-residence: from 1994 until 2001

The LAMC has premiered his: O Magnum Mysterium, Lux Aeterna, Ave Maria, Voici le Soir (from Nocturnes)

The LAMC has recorded: Lux Aeterna, Les Chanson des Roses, Ave Maria, Mid-Winter Songs, and O Magnum Mysterium on the Grammy Award®- nominated album Lauridsen – Lux Aeterna (1998)

Preparing the next generation of composers: as Distinguished Professor of Composition at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music

Awards: in 2006, named an “American Choral Master” by the National Endowment for the Arts; in 2007, was awarded the National Medal of the Arts “for his composition of radiant choral works combining musical beauty, power, and spiritual depth”

International popularity: by the end of the 20th century, he eclipsed Randall Thompson as the most frequently performed American choral composer; his music has been recorded on over 200 CDs and has received several Grammy nominations