Lou was a very gentle soul and gave so much of his time to people, asking nothing in return.
Ethnomusicology is baked into my DNA, as my grandmother, before she married, was a child prodigy performing at major concert venues and she was the only pianist that Colin McPhee would allow to accompany him. Colin is well known as one of the earliest proponents of gamelan in North America.
From Boston Modern Orchestra's website:
"Colin McPhee was a Canadian composer and musicologist. He is primarily known for being the first Western composer to make an ethnomusicological study of Bali, and for the quality of that work. He also composed music influenced by that of Bali and Java decades before such world music–based compositions became widespread."
Lou Harrison was heavily influenced by Colin. My grandmother met Colin while he was at Peabody Conservatory. My brother and I saw the premier of an opera based on his life, a few years ago.
Colin McPhee, composer, ethnomusicologist, pianist, professor (b at Montreal, 15 Mar 1900; d at Los Angeles, 7 Jan 1964). ...
www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca
Colin's role in promoting the study of non-western instruments in western conservatories cannot be understated. The impact this had on composers who followed, such as Philip Glass, John Adams, Lou Harrison, and much of modern Hollywood film scoring, is immeasurable.
Here is a more thorough study of the gamelan in North America:
And as musical instruments continue to evolve, no matter how old they are or where they are used, this is an interesting study of adaptations of gamelan construction for greater mobility:
Neil McLachlan recounts the development of a new version of the gamelan instrument adapted to the mobile Western lifestyle while keeping true to the Indonesian musical scale.
garlandmag.com
I don't think it is yet known for certain whether gamelan is the original East Asian "orchestra" and whether all the other traditional instruments of the region, such as Peking Opera Orchestra, ultimately derive from it, or vice-versa, or whether it was a symbiotic relationship from the start.
