The oldest of two sons born to Adrian and Evelyn Sorensen Lauritzen, he was raised in a home where both parents were professional musicians. Following graduation from Maplewood Academy, he attended Union College, where he completed a music education degree in 1974. During his senior year, he was chosen as a member of Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities.

Lauritzen then taught at Cedar Vale Junior Academy in Kansas City, Missouri; Wisconsin Academy; and Clara E. Rogers Elementary School in College Place, Washington, before going to CA. He completed a master’s degree in music at the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1986.

He has toured extensively with his choirs throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. He traveled to Canada in 1990 and has been to Europe numerous times. His groups have been widely praised for their ensemble and the quality of their singing. In 1993, they were invited to perform during the Columbia Union Music Festival as a demonstration choir and he gave a workshop for the choral directors during that event.

The choir program at CA includes the Madrigal Singers, a select group of 35-38 voices, and the Choral Union, a group of over 100. Additionally, Lauritzen conducts a handbell ensemble, the Cantabile Ringers. These CA ensembles perform frequently on campus in the Collegdale Church, presenting Evensong concerts.

Performances by the large choir and academy orchestra have included the Faure Requiem, and the Schubert Mass in No.2 in G Major. A secular concert is given each spring that includes a variety of music, including numbers from opera and Broadway.

In 2004, Lauritzen was chosen as one of fifteen SDA teachers nationwide to receive an Excellence in Teaching Award for his choral work and Bible teaching. Recipients are chosen through a nominating process and the writing of an essay on "Why I Teach in Adventist Schools." The program, which includes a $1,000 award to those who are chosen, is sponsored by the NAD Alumni Awards Foundation.

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