Finding Aid for James and Lorene Bier Sound Recording Collection, 1955-1987 | The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

Title: James and Lorene Bier Sound Recording Collection, 1955-1987

ID: 12/9/188

Primary Creator: Bier, James A. (1927-)

Other Creators: Bier, Lorene M.

Extent: 3.0 cubic feet

Arrangement: Materials are arranged following the numerical code assigned to the recordings by the Biers, who organized their recordings by subject and by artist. The materials that were retained include the 600 (European Folk), 700 (Japanese Folk) and 800 (Pacific Island Folk) series recordings. The 800 series further breaks into the following segments: 805-811 (Hawaii), 812-825 (Ukulele), 826-837 (Brothers Cazimero), 838 (Comedy), 839-853 (Voice Female), 854-858 (Slack-Key Guitar), 859-873 (Male Voice), and 874-875 (Exotic). See appraisal note for deaccessioned items and the full recording code.

Date Acquired: 08/12/2026

Subjects: Guitar music, Hawaiian guitar, Hawaiian guitar music, Kabuki, Music -- Japan, Russian Folk Orchestra, Russian Folk Songs, Vocal music

Formats/Genres: Sound Recordings

Languages: Hawaiian, Japanese, Russian, Hungarian, Greek,Modern(1453-), English

Consists of LP recordings, documenting James and Lorene Bier's interests in Hawaiian, Japanese, and Russian Folk music.

James "Jim" A. Bier (1927- ) is a cartographer and alumn of the University of Illinois. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Bier earned a bachelor's degree in cartography from Case Western University. Although he had started as a music major, Bier changed his focus to cartography, building on skills he'd gained from mechanical drafting courses in high school. During the Korean War, Bier was drafted and served the US Army in the 29th Engineer Mapping Battalion, which was stationed in Tokyo, Japan. During his time in Japan, Bier grew to love Japanese culture, learning Japanese gardening techniques and collecting recordings of Japanese music.

Following his service, he earned his masters degree in geography in 1957. In that year, he was hired by the University to serve as a staff cartographer and in 1958 he published Atlas of Illinois Resources. He would remain in the Geography Department until his retirement in 1989. During this time, Bier produced nearly 3,000 maps and atlases. Between 1971 and 1972, he was "on loan" to the University of Hawaii, where he was tasked with charting maps of the smaller islands. Several of his maps appear in the Atlas of Hawaii and Reference Maps of the Islands of Hawaii, which were published by the University of Hawaii Press.

In 1998, Bier served as a consultant and designer of the Japan House tea garden. Bier also donated the money and the designs to the University in order to construct the tea gardens. Bier earned an Illinois Arts Legacy Award for his work on the Japanese tea garden in 2018.

Guitar music
Hawaiian guitar
Hawaiian guitar music
Kabuki
Music -- Japan
Russian Folk Orchestra
Russian Folk Songs
Vocal music

Repository: The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

Acquisition Source: James and Lorene Bier

Acquisition Method: Gift

Appraisal Information: When the collection was acquired, it was determined that only materials from the 600, 700, and 800 series would be retained. The full collection consisted of the following numerical series: 100 (Classical, one composition), 200 (Classical, two composition), 300 (Classical, three or more compositions), 400 (Classical, solo harp, piano, guitar, harp, and flute), 500 (Vocal, classical), 600 (European Folk), 700 (Japanese Classical and Folk), 800 (Pacific Island Folk), 900 (Latin America Folk and Popular), 1001-1005 (American Folk), 1006-1100 (Country and Ragtime), 1101-1106 (Christmas Music), 1108-113 (Popular Choral), 1115-1119 (Popular Piano), 1122-1128 (Big Band), 1129-1134 (Pops Orchestra), 1135-1136 (Harp and Panpipe), 1200 (Broadway Musicals), and 1300 (Organ).

Related Materials: The James A. Bier Map Collection and Archives in the Map Library For more information please see https://www.library.illinois.edu/max/unique-collections/james-a-bier-collection-and-archives/.