“Shining Night: A Portrait of a Composer” 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 2010-2011 in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Aberdeen, Scotland, and Waldron Island, the documentary conveys the richness and breadth of the award-winning composer's life, with a soundtrack featuring his masterworks: Lux Aeterna, O Magnum Mysterium, Nocturnes (Sa Nuit D'Ete, Soneto de la Noche, and Sure On This Shining Night), Dirait-on and Madrigali.
Winner of four Best Documentary awards since opening on February 7, 2012 in Palm Springs and now being screened throughout the world, “Shining Night” was named “a heartening rarity” by Terry Teachout of the Wall Street Journal. Directed by first- time filmmaker Michael Stillwater and co-produced with his wife Doris Laesser Stillwater, it gives audiences a rare encounter with music that inspires humanity and conveys a spiritual transmission to singers and audiences alike.
Presented with support from Cosanti Foundation and K-Bach, the screening of “Shining Night” will be hosted by pianist Dr. Lynne Haeseler.