Lou Harrison

Lou Harrison died last night. Here's a message from Don Harris, Ohio
State U.:

>> >Last night, while traveling from Chicago to Columbus, Lou
Harrison >> >passed away. We had sent Adam Schweigert and Joe
Panzner, two >> >students in Composition and Theory, to Chicago with
a University van >> >to greet Lou and his traveling companion, Todd
Burlingame, and drive >> >them back to campus for the Festival. Lou
does not like to fly and >> >took the train, the California Zephyr,
from near San Francisco to >> >Chicago. The train arrived at about
5:15 PM. While en route to >> >Indianapolis, their overnight
destination, Adam, Joe, Lou and Todd >> >decided to stop at a
Denny's restaurant in Lafayette, Indiana, for >> >some dinner. Lou
stumbled and fell upon getting out of the vehicle >> >and apparently
suffered a heart attack. He had great difficulty >> >breathing.
Paramedics were called and they arrived within minutes. >> >Lou was
transported to the hospital but was unable to be revived. >> >He
passed away around 9 or 9:30 PM.

>> >This is a great tragedy for the entire world of music. Lou was
as >> >excited about the Festival as we were. Our sympathies go out
to all >> >in the world of music and dance who treasured his great
gift. I >> >will always remember the joy in his voice when we
spoke over the >> >telephone about the Festival. He was an active
participant in >> >planning the concerts. He had also prepared a
special seminar for >> >OSU students in composition. He was very
much looking forward to >> >the CSO performances of his Third
Symphony in a final revision that >> >he had just completed. He
told me how honored he felt to have so >> >many of his compositions
performed on the Festival. Let everyone >> >know that the Festival
performances will go on as planned as a >> >tribute to this
legendary American musician.

>> >I must also at this time offer our sincere thanks to Adam and
Joe. >> >As you might imagine, they were devastated by what took
place. Yet >> >they remained calm at all times, stayed in close
touch with me, and >> >were of great comfort to Todd Burlingame. We
can be proud of the >> >way they represented Ohio State and the
School of Music. Adam and >> >Joe will return to Columbus today.
When you see them, please thank >> >them for their calm and measured
reactions under such tragic >> >circumstances.

>> >Lou Harrison will be cremated today; his remains shipped back to
>> >California. He was eighty-five years old.
------- End of forwarded message -------

Judith,

Thanks for your note to this particular list; the news has been spread and tributes paid on some of the other tuning lists, too. A gentler soul and more adventurous spirit one could not find than Lou. My colleague Randy reminded me that it was a year ago to the day that Lou passed that we shared a stage with him in San Jose, in tribute to Harry Partch.

I bet the two of them are retuning all the harps in the afterworld right now...

Best,
Jon