Harry Partch (1901-1974) was an American modernist composer who specialized in creating music for instruments of his own designs and tunings. During the Great Depression he was a hobo, and his experiences on the road inspired the vocal works Barstow and U.S. Highball. Partch invented myriad new wind, string, and percussion instruments, modified existing ones, and used found materials. Partch's Gate 5 Ensemble performed many of his large-scale, ritualistic works, of which his opera Delusion of the Fury is the best known. In 1949, Partch first published Genesis of a Music, a book that elucidated his unique theories and methods. ~ Blair Sanderson