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Morten Lauridsen
Sure on this Shining Night

Sure on this Shining Night

by Morten Lauridsen

3

Schools

3

Performances

—

Voicing

Challenging

Difficulty

About This Piece

A setting of James Agee's poem about a serene, wonder-filled summer night, drawn from Lauridsen's 2005 choral cycle Nocturnes. The music is lyrical and flowing, with piano accompaniment, and Lauridsen has described his approach as akin to American musical theater song. The piece evokes quiet introspection and a sense of peace beneath the night sky.

Summary generated with AI.

20th-21st century
art song
english
lyrical
night
nocturne
piano accompaniment
secular

Performances by School Year

School year
Performances
2025–26 2
2006–07 1

Often Programmed With

Pieces that appear on the same concert programs.

About this data

Rankings come from concert programs uploaded by choral directors. To protect privacy, a piece, composer or arranger is listed only after at least 3 different schools have performed it, and no schools, directors or students are ever named.

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My wife, Barbara, is a highly respected choral director—NJ All-State Chorus, CJMEA Region II, All-Eastern co-Director, and conductor of multiple international choirs. When we married in 1988, I became “choir-adjacent” in nearly every aspect of life. Over time, that led me to create TheDirectorsRoom.com to support Barbara’s audition registration work for NJMEA and CJMEA, and eventually to assist other regional nonprofit choral organizations with similar needs.

Along the way—through long car rides listening to countless JW Pepper CDs and over many dinners with choral directors—I gained a deep appreciation for a persistent challenge: finding high-quality choral music that can realistically and successfully be brought into the classroom.

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rick@mfrholdings.com

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