A National Medal of Arts recipient (2007),[2] he was composer-in-residence of the Los Angeles Master Chorale from 1994 to 2001,[3] and is professor emeritus of composition at the USC Thornton School of Music, where he taught for fifty-two years until his retirement in 2019.

He attended Whitman College for 2 years, before traveling south to study composition at the University of Southern California with Ingolf Dahl, Halsey Stevens, Robert Linn, and Harold Owen.

In 2007, he received the National Medal of Arts from the president in a White House ceremony, "for his composition of radiant choral works combining musical beauty, power and spiritual depth that have thrilled audiences worldwide.

"[6] His works have been recorded on more than 200 CDs, five of which have received Grammy Award nominations, including O Magnum Mysterium by the Tiffany Consort, A Company of Voices by Conspirare, Sound The Bells by The Bay Brass, and two all-Lauridsen discs entitled Lux Aeterna by the Los Angeles Master Chorale led by Paul Salamunovich and Nocturnes with the Polyphony choir and the Britten Sinfonia conducted by Stephen Layton.

In late February 2020, via an update on his Facebook page, Lauridsen revealed he had retired from the Thornton School of Music in the spring of 2019, after having taught classes there for over 50 years.

His eight vocal cycles and two collections—Les Chansons des Roses (Rilke), Mid-Winter Songs (Graves), A Winter Come (Moss), Madrigali: Six "FireSongs" on Italian Renaissance Poems, Nocturnes (Rilke, Neruda, and Agee), Cuatro Canciones (Lorca), Four Madrigals on Renaissance Texts, A Backyard Universe, Five Songs on American Poems (Moss, Witt, Gioia, and Agee) and Lux Aeterna—his series of sacred a cappella motets (O magnum mysterium, Ave Maria, O Nata Lux, Ubi caritas et amor, and Ave Dulcissima Maria) and numerous instrumental works are featured regularly in concert by artists and ensembles throughout the world.

[8] His musical approaches to the texts he sets are diverse, ranging from direct to abstract in response to characteristics (subject matter, language, style, structure, historical era, etc.).

His Latin sacred settings, such as the Lux Aeterna and motets, often reference Gregorian chant, as well as Medieval and Renaissance techniques while blending them with contemporary sounds.

"[9] From 1993, Lauridsen's music rapidly increased in international popularity, and by the end of the century he had eclipsed Randall Thompson as the most frequently performed American choral composer.

Commentaries about the composer by poet Dana Gioia, conductor Paul Salamunovich, composer/conductor Paul Mealor, composer Alex Shapiro, and conductor Robert Geary, along with performances by the San Francisco Choral Society, University of Aberdeen Choral Society and Orchestra, Con Anima Chamber Choir, and Volti, are featured.