"I've been good friends with composer Morten Lauridsen for seven years now. For those of you unfamiliar with Lauridsen, he is a National Medal of Arts recipient and the most frequently performed American choral composer in modern history. So in the choral world, he's a legend. I just returned yesterday from a visit with Skip (the name he goes by with friends) at his home on San Juan Island. He is a kind and generous soul, and such a treasure to spend time with."
"We never spoke then, but I sat behind him while attending the Choral Crossties (a professional choir in Portland, OR) rehearsals and premieres of his Les Chansons des Roses ("The Songs about Roses"), a 5-song cycle setting of French poems by Rainier Maria Rilke. I got to hear all the rehearsals and concerts as part of a high school choral mentorship program. I had never heard such beautiful choral music before. I was astounded by his composition and was forever changed by those concerts."
A musician has been close friends with composer Morten Lauridsen for seven years. Lauridsen is a National Medal of Arts recipient and the most frequently performed American choral composer in modern history. The musician recently visited Lauridsen at his home on San Juan Island; Lauridsen is 82 and in remission from cancer. The first encounter occurred in 1993 at age 17 while attending Choral Crossties rehearsals and premieres of Les Chansons des Roses. The experience of those rehearsals profoundly affected the musician, leading to performances of the cycle as a college singer and later as accompanist for the Oregon Repertory Singers.
Read at Oregon ArtsWatch * Arts & Culture News
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