TOPSHAM — On Sunday, March 17, at 3 p.m. the choirs of First Parish Church, UCC, Brunswick, nationally acclaimed soloists, and a chamber orchestra will present Morten Lauridsen’s “Lux Aeterna” (Eternal Light) and Anne Wilson’s “Song of Hope” in concert at the Orion Performance Center at Mt. Ararat Middle School.

The program will begin with “Lux Aeterna.” Lauridsen, born in 1943, has been a longtime professor and chairman of the Department of Composition at the University of Southern California and, since 1994, Composer in Residence of the Los Angeles Master Chorale. He is perhaps one of the most frequently performed composers of choral music today.

Lauridsen writes, “I composed Lux Aeterna in response to my mother’s final illness and found great personal comfort and solace in setting to music these timeless and wondrous words about Light.”

“Song of Hope” is a setting of the Beatitudes combined with texts of Carl Sandburg, Mother Teresa, Dwight Eisenhower, Melba Pattillo Beals, and Marianne Williamson. Cleveland-based composer Anne Wilson juxtaposes the ancient scriptures of blessings (Blessed are the poor, Blessed are the peacemakers, Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for justice….) with contemporary writings about the working poor, the desegregation of the schools in Little Rock, Ark., in 1957, the work of Mother Teresa, and the costs of war along with words of inspiration used by Nelson Mandella.

Joining the adult and children’s choirs in this concert are two nationally acclaimed soloists, soprano Barbara Kilduff and baritone John David Adams.

Tickets at the door are $15 for general admission. Students younger than 21 are free. For tickets or more information, visit www.firstparishmusic.com or call 729-7331.