Lauridsen Earns National Medal of Arts
Morten Lauridsen received a lifetime achievement award from the NEA last week, presented at the White House by President George Bush. We will perform Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna in Vienna at the 2009 Haydn Choral Festival under the direction of Jo-Michael Scheibe.
He is the first USC professor and third alum to receive the lifetime achievement award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
By Ljiljana Grubisic
President Bush awards the National Medal of Arts to composer Morten Lauridsen at a White House ceremony.
Photo/Michael Stewart, National Endowment for the ArtsMorten Lauridsen, professor of composition at the USC Thornton School of Music for more than 30 years and a three-time alumnus (BM ’66, MA ’68, DMA ’74) has been awarded the National Medal of Arts, the highest recognition given by the National Endowment for the Arts to artists and patrons in the fields of visual, performing and literary arts.
Lauridsen’s lifetime achievement award recognizes his preeminent place in the choral music of the 20th century. The medal was presented today by President George Bush and first lady Laura Bush in a special ceremony at the White House.
President Bush noted, “Our honorees represent the great strength and diversity of the American culture.”
After the president’s introduction, a military aide read the names and contributions of the winners.
Lauridsen won the honor, according to the official citation, for “his composition of radiant choral works combining musical power, beauty and spiritual depth that have thrilled audiences worldwide.”
Lauridsen is only one of eight classical composers, including Aaron Copland and Elliott Carter, to receive the award. Last year the NEA named him an “American choral master.”
