Lou Harrison

Lou Harrison is a marquee name in avant music for good reason; his studies with Henry Cowell and Arnold Schoenberg and his work with John Cage gave him a strong grasp of contemporary theory. But the incorporation of Eastern musical traditions and micro-tonality really distinguished his work -- he employed everything from Indonesian gamelan instruments to tin cans. A friend and admirer of Charles Ives, Harrison was also a noted music scholar and political activist. Toward the end of his life, Harrison lived with longtime partner William Colvig in Joshua Tree, California, in a straw-bale house. He died in Lafayette, Indiana, in 2003 from a heart attack