Evergreen with a fungus?

I am not a green thumb at all and bought a house in White Rock BC a few years ago with a great yard/garden. Everything except a few tropicals have flourished since I have taken over, until this year. It seems that this evergreen tree/bush we have has some sort of fungus and is dying off. I am not sure of what the bush/tree is, maybe a Laurel. It flowers in late summer with little white flowers followed by grape like fruit.

It began in the late summer last year with the brown leaves. Upon inspection I found brown rough spots on some leaves higher up and others with holes (I assumed from bugs/slugs). I removed the dead branches in the fall. Over the winter I was finding more and more infected leaves and some were black and grey with a moldy look on the edges. I have since moved our composter and its contents from between the bushes in question along with all the infected leaves/branches. Still the problem persists. I don't want to lose my beautiful privacy bush!

Any suggestions? Feel free to identify the tree/bush as well.

 

It's Prunus laurocerasus, commonly called cherry laurel, although not a Laurel. Very commonly used for hedges and somewhat invasive in this region. Wikipedia offers a fairly good page on this plant.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prunus_laurocerasus

Not sure what is causing the browning leaves. The plant responds very well to pruning. I would cut away all the dying branches and dispose of them.