Finding Aid for James W Beauchamp Harmonic Tone Generator and Papers, 1862-2022 | The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

Title: James W Beauchamp Harmonic Tone Generator and Papers, 1862-2022

ID: 12/5/69

Primary Creator: Beauchamp, James W. (1937-2022)

Extent: 23.0 cubic feet

Arrangement:

Organized in six series:

Series 1) Instruction, 1963-2010, which is organized into two sub-series: Sub-series 1) College of Engineering and Sub-series 2) School of Music. Both sub-series are arranged by course number and then chronologically by semester.

Series 2) Research and Publications, 1862-2018, which is organized into two sub-series: Sub-series 1) Research and Publications, which is organized alphabetically by topic; and Sub-series 2) Presentations at conferences, which is organized alphabetically by organization and then chronologically.

Series 3) Professional Service, ca. 1970-2020, which is organized into two sub-series: Sub-series 1) Acoustical Society of America Committee Files and Conference Programs, and Sub-series 2) Profesional Organization Conferences and Travel Itineraries. Both sub-series are arranged chronologically.

Series 4) Administrative Records, 1963-2021, which is arranged in three sub-series: Sub-series 1) Computer Music Project and Experimental Studio Records, which is arranged alphabetically and then chronologically by year; Sub-series 2) Faculty Records and Reports, which is arranged alphabetically and then chronologically by year; and Sub-series 3) Correspondence, which is arranged alphabetically by surname.

Series 5) Personal Papers, 1954-2022, which is arranged chronologically.

and Series 6) Harmonic Tone Generator Components and Research, 1963-1966, which arranged by material type and chronologically therein.

Date Acquired: 01/14/2015. More info below under Accruals.

Subjects: Acoustical Society of America, Acoustics, Alumni, Class Notes, Classroom Instruction, Computer Music, Computer Science, Dissertations, Electrical Engineering, Electrical Engineering Department, Electronic Music, Faculty, Faculty Papers, Hiller, Lejaren (1924-1994), Illiac Computers, Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM), Music, School of

Formats/Genres: Experimental Music, Papers

Languages: English

Consists of published articles, class records (such as syllabi, class rosters, and homework assignments), research files, conference programs, essays, and photos documenting James Beauchamp's acoustic research and role as a Professor in the School of Music and College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Of note in this collection are the Harmonic Tone Generator, supporting Magnavox grant, correspondence with Robert Moog, programs and correspondence related to a Barry Truax concert held at the University of Illinois, a bound copy of his dissertation, and research and publications completed at the Institut de recherche et coordination in acoustique musique (IRCAM) in Paris, France.

James Warren Beauchamp (1937-2022) was Professor Emeritus in both the School of Music and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois. Dr. Beauchamp received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Michigan, in 1960 and 1961 respectively. In 1965, he graduated from the University of Illinois with a PhD in electrical engineering. His dissertation was entitled Electronic Instrumentation for the Synthesis, Control, and Analysis of Harmonic Musical Tones. He worked closely with his mentor, chemist and composer Lejaren Hiller, during his PhD studies to create the Harmonic Tone Generator (HTG), funded by a Magnavox Corporation grant. The device was among the first voltage-controlled electronic music synthesizers. The HTG was used in a number of electronic music projects staged at the University of Illinois, including Salvatore Martirano's Underworld.

He joined the electrical and computer engineering faculty as an associate professor in 1965. Shortly after, he took a leave of absence which he spent working in Stanford's Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. He returned in 1969 to his joint appointment in electrical and computer engineering and music. He served as director of the School of Music's Experimental Music Studios from 1984 to 1993, during which time he headed the Hybrid Computer Project and the Computer Music Project. It was during this time that he programmed a number of concerts for the Computer Music Project, the most notable being Dexter Morrill in 1982 and Barry Truax in 1996.

He retired from the University of Illinois faculty in 1997, but remained an active researcher in his field and continued to write papers with former Ph.D. students, Andrew Horner and Rob Maher. Dr. Beauchamp was a fellow of both the Audio Engineering Society and the Acoustical Society of America. He was also a visiting scholar at Stanford's Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics and a visiting researcher at the Institut de recherche et coordination in acoustique musique (IRCAM) in Paris.

Dr. Beauchamp passed away in 2022. In 2024, his former student Rob Maher established the James W. Beauchamp Award for Interdisciplinary Research. The award is granted to an Electrical and Computer Engineering doctoral student who pursues "interdisciplinary creative work that transcends traditional department boundaries".

Acoustical Society of America
Acoustics
Alumni
Class Notes
Classroom Instruction
Computer Music
Computer Science
Dissertations
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering Department
Electronic Music
Faculty
Faculty Papers
Hiller, Lejaren (1924-1994)
Illiac Computers
Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM)
Music, School of

Repository: The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

Accruals: Folder of news-clippings donated on 11/16/2017. Twenty-one additional boxes donated on 06/10/2025 by Mrs. Beauchamp.

Acquisition Source: James Beauchamp

Acquisition Method: Gift

Related Materials: For further information about other Lejaren Hiller sound recordings and personal papers please visit  the University at Buffalo's Lejaren Hiller Papers. For more information please see https://research.lib.buffalo.edu/hiller.