Shining Night: A Portrait of Composer Morten Lauridsen

Shining Night A Portrait of Composer Morten Lauridsen A Song Without Borders Production A Film by Michael Stillwater Produced by Michael Stillwater Doris Laesser Stillwater Shining Night offers a glimpse into the life and music of one of America s greatest contemporary composers, National Medal of Arts recipient Morten Lauridsen, who has written much of his remarkable music in his rustic cabin on Waldron Island and his home on San Juan Island. He has been called the only American composer in history who can be called a mystic by musicologist Nick Strimple. Exploring the relationship of art, nature, and spirituality, Shining Night reveals the composer through the lens of his love for the natural world together with his passion for music and poetry, interwoven with commentaries from composers, conductors, singers, and friends. Filmed between 20102011 in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Aberdeen, Scotland, and Waldron Island, the documentary conveys the richness and breadth of the awardwinning composer s lif