A Graduate recital in choral conducting

Includes recorded audio files in WAV and MP3 formats, 44:84 in lengthMorton Lauridsen is one of the most recognizable living American choral composers of today. He grew up in Portland, Oregon. He attended Whitman College in Washington and the University of Southern California where he currently serves as Professor of Theory/Aural Skills and Composition. \ud The Latin text of O Magnum Mysterium is the forth of the nine responsories for Matins of Christmas Day, and it has inspired many composers to set music. Lauridsen's 0 Magnum Mysterium was written during his residency at the Los Angeles Master Chorale, and premiered by the choral lead by Paul Salamunovich in 1994. As in many of Lauridsen's compositions, the base of the harmonic structure of the composition is a first-inversion major triad with an added ninth of the chord. The chord was first presented by an American composer, Aaron Copland in the early 20th century, and the open structure of the chord has been associated with sense of Americana. Over the years, Lauridsen explored the possibility of this nationalistic new tone in Latin, an international language in choral music. This piece was one of the results of his exploration in the 1990s. \ud Irish (Celtic) music is one of the two genres in the world music that are accepted and recognized by people around the world (the other is the Hawaiian music). There is something about Irish/Celtic songs that attracts us and make us nostalgic. The Gartan Mother s Lullaby is a traditional folk song from a northern area of Ireland, Gartan in County Donegal. Niel Ginsberg's arrangement of this song brings the tune into the contemporary music world keeping the bitter-sweetness of the original at the same time. Ginsberg was born in 1969 and is a graduate of the Hartt School of Music, the Brooklyn College and the University of Southern California. (See more in text.