.
By Scott Schwartz, Swarnikaa Kiran, and Finnegan Upchurch
Collection Overview
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
Scope and Contents of the Materials
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.
Biographical Note
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".
Subject/Index Terms
Administrative Information
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.
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Series:
[Series 1: Instruction, 1963-2010],
[
Series 2: Research and Publications, 1862-2018],
[
Series 3: Professional Service, 1963-2021],
[
Series 4: Administrative Records, 1954-2022],
[
Series 5: Personal Papers, 1951-2021],
[
Series 6: Harmonic Tone Generator Components and Research, 1963-1966],
[
All]
- Series 1: Instruction, 1963-2010
- Consists of courses taught by Beauchamp at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Organized into two subseries, Subseries 1, College of Engineering and Subseries 2, School of Music.
- Sub-Series 1: College of Engineering, 1963-2010
- Consists of Electrical and Computer Engineering class rosters, syllabi, student assignments, and exams. Arranged numerically by course number, then chronologically by semester.
- Box 2
- Folder 1: Advisees, Masters and Doctoral Student Records, 1996-1999
- Folder 2: Audio Tutorial Lessons and Notes (1 of 2), 2014
- Contains lesson plans, notes, and homework problems compiled by Beauchamp for an independent study mentee.
- Folder 3: Audio Tutorial Lessons and Notes (2 of 2), 2014
- Contains lesson plans, notes, and homework problems compiled by Beauchamp for an independent study mentee.
- Folder 4: ECE 210/211 Exams and Solutions, 2007-2010
- Folder 5: ECE 210/211 Notes, Roster, 2009-2010
- Includes a copy of 'Dr. Everitt's Neighborhood' an ECE curriculum guide created by the Eta Kappa Nu chapter at Illinois.
- Folder 6: ECE 210/211 Notes (1 of 3), 2010
- Spring Semester
- Folder 7: ECE 210/211 Notes (2 of 3), 2010
- Spring Semster
- Folder 8: ECE 210/211 Notes (3 of 3), 2010
- Spring Semester
- Folder 9: ECE 302 Exams and Solutions (1 of 3), 1973-1994
- Folder 10: ECE 302 Exams and Solutions (2 of 3), 1973-1994
- Folder 11: ECE 302 Exams and Solutions (3 of 3), 1973-1994
- Folder 12: ECE 302 Lists of Casette Tape Examples, undated
- Folder 13: ECE 302 Rosters and Pictures, 1973-1992
- Folder 14: ECE 302 Course Outlines, Schedules, Bibliographies, ca. 1976-1995
- Folder 15: ECE 302 Course Outlines and Roster, 1985
- Fall Semester
- Folder 16: ECE 302 Course Outlines and Roster, 1986
- Fall Semester
- Folder 17: ECE 302 Course Outlines and Roster, 1987
- Fall Semester
- Folder 18: ECE 302 Notes, 1988
- Fall Semester. Includes student term paper proposals.
- Folder 19: ECE 302 Course Outlines and Roster, 1989
- Fall Semester
- Folder 20: ECE 302 Course Outlines and Roster, 1990
- Fall Semester
- Folder 21: ECE 302 Course Outlines and Roster, 1991
- Fall Semester
- Folder 22: ECE 302 Course Outlines and Roster, 1992
- Fall Semester
- Folder 23: ECE 302 Course Outline and Roster, 1995
- Fall Semester
- Folder 24: ECE 302 Notes, Assignements, Exams, 1996
- Fall Semester
- Folder 25: ECE 302 Notes, Assignments, Exams, 1997
- Fall Semester
- Folder 26: ECE 303 Books and Articles, undated
- Folder 27: ECE 303 Notes and Journal Articles (1 of 3), 1963-1996
- Folder 28: ECE 303 Notes and Journal Articles (2 of 3), 1963-1996
- Folder 29: ECE 303 Notes and Journal Articles (3 of 3), 1963-1996
- Folder 30: ECE 303 Sound Localization Notes and Journal Articles (1 of 2), 1960-1983
- Folder 31: ECE 303 Sound Localization Notes and Journal Articles (2 of 2), 1960-1983
- Folder 32: ECE 303 Homework Assignments and Exams, 1974-1993
- Folder 33: ECE 303 Rosters and Pictures, 1974-1999
- Folder 34: ECE 303 Course Packet Notes (Part 2), 1991
- Folder 35: ECE 303 Course Outlines and Assignments (Kurt Hebel), 1995
- Spring Semester. Contains course overviews, homeowrk and exams from the Spring 1995 semester's ECE 303 class taught by Kurt J. Hebel.
- Folder 36: ECE 303 Course Packet Notes (Part 1), 1999-2000
- Folder 37: ECE 303 Course Packet Notes (Part 2), 1999
- Spring Semester
- Folder 38: ECE 403 Course Packet Notes (Part 1), 2007
- Spring Semester
- Folder 39: ECE 403 Course Packet Notes (Part 2), 2007
- Spring Semester
- Folder 40: ECE 403 Course Packet Notes (Part 3), 2007
- Spring Semester
- Box 3
- Folder 1: ECE 403 Lecture Syllabus and Problem Sets, 2007
- Spring Semester
- Folder 2: ECE 403 Notes and Journal Articles (Part 1), 2007
- Spring Semester
- Folder 3: ECE 403 Notes and Journal Articles (Part 2), 2007
- Spring Semester
- Folder 4: ECE 403 Roster, Schedule and Notes, 2007
- Spring Semester
- Folder 5: ECE 403 Notes, 2014
- Spring Semester
- Folder 6: ECE 490 Notes, 1987
- Fall Semester
- Folder 7: ECE 490 Notes, 1988
- Fall Semester
- Folder 8: ECE 498 Notes, MUS 320 (Section F) Notes, 1982
- Spring Semester
- Sub-Series 2: School of Music, 1970-2003
- Consists of Music class rosters, syllabi, notes, homework assignments with solutions, and exams. Arranged by course number, then chronologically by semester.
- Box 3
- Folder 9: Articles on Computer Music, ca. 1985-1988
- Folder 10: Music and ECE Course Rosters, 1970-1997
- Folder 11: MUS 302 Exams and Solutions (1 of 2), 1970-1990
- Folder 12: MUS 302 Exams and Solutions (2 of 2), 1970-1990
- Folder 13: MUS 302 Handout Notes, ca. 1974-1994
- Folder 14: MUS 302 Handwritten Notes, 1970-1984
- Folder 15: MUS 302 Homework and Solutions (1 of 2), 1970-1985
- Folder 16: MUS 302 Homework and Solutions (2 of 2), 1970-1985
- Folder 17: MUS 302 Rosters and Photos, 1970-1997
- Folder 18: MUS 302 Course Outlines, Schedules and Bibliography, 1977-1995
- Folder 19: MUS 302 Notes, Fall 1984, 1982-1984
- Folder 20: MUS 302 Notes, Spring 1985, 1977-1985
- Folder 21: MUS 302 Notes, 1986
- Spring Semester
- Folder 22: MUS 302 Course Articles (Kinko's Copies), 1987
- Contains printed articles on percussion and string acoustics for MUS 302 by Kinko's Copies (Professor Publishing).
- Folder 23: MUS 302 Notes, Spring 1987, 1985-1987
- Folder 24: MUS 302 Notes, 1989
- Spring Semester
- Folder 25: MUS 302 Notes, 1990
- Spring Semester
- Folder 26: MUS 302 Notes, 1991
- Spring Semester
- Folder 27: MUS 302 Notes, 1992
- Spring Semester
- Folder 28: MUS 302 Course Notes and Handouts, 1993-2012
- Folder 29: MUS 302 Notes, 1993
- Spring Semester
- Folder 30: MUS 302 Notes, 1994
- Spring Semester
- Folder 31: MUS 302 Notes, 1996
- Spring Semester
- Folder 32: MUS 302 Lesson Notes and Handouts (1 of 2), 1997
- Includes written notes, annotations, and diagrams for MUS 302 lessons.
- Folder 33: MUS 302 Lesson Notes and Handouts (2 of 2), 1997
- Includes written notes, annotations, and diagrams for MUS 302 lessons.
- Folder 34: MUS 302 Notes, 1997
- Spring Semester
- Folder 35: MUS 304 Notes, 1970
- Summer Session
- Folder 36: MUS 309, MUS 320, MUS 448 - Rosters, 1970-1998
- Box 4
- Folder 1: MUS 320 (Section G) Notes, 1983
- Spring Semester
- Folder 2: MUS 320 (Section JWB) Notes, 1985
- Spring Semester
- Folder 3: MUS 320 (Section D) Notes, 1986
- Spring Semester
- Folder 4: MUS 320 (Section D) Notes, 1987
- Spring Semester
- Folder 5: MUS 320 (Section F) Notes, 1987
- Summer Session
- Folder 6: MUS 320 (Section F) Notes, 1988
- Fall Semester
- Folder 7: MUS 320 (Section G), Notes, 1989
- Spring Semester
- Folder 8: MUS 320 (Section F and Section I) Notes, 1989-1990
- Folder 9: MUS 320 (Section C) Notes, 1990
- Fall Semester
- Folder 10: MUS 320 (Section E) Notes, 1991
- Spring Semester
- Folder 11: MUS 320 (Section E) Notes, 1992
- Spring Semester
- Folder 12: MUS 320 (Section E) Notes, 1993
- Spring Semester
- Folder 13: MUS 320/448 Projects Assignments, Notes, and Rosters, 1994-1996
- Folder 14: MUS 320 (Section D) Notes, 1995
- Fall Semester
- Folder 15: MUS 320 (Section D) Notes, 1996
- Fall Semester
- Folder 16: MUS 320 (Section F) Notes, 1997-2003
- Spring Semesters
- Folder 17: MUS 448 Notes, 1970-1984
- Folder 18: MUS 448 Notes, 1986
- Fall Semester
- Folder 19: MUS 448 Notes, 1987
- Fall Semester
- Folder 20: MUS 448 Notes, 1991
- Fall Semester
- Folder 21: MUS 448 Notes, 1992
- Fall Semester
- Folder 22: MUS 448, 1993
- Fall Semester
Browse by Series:
[Series 1: Instruction, 1963-2010],
[
Series 2: Research and Publications, 1862-2018],
[
Series 3: Professional Service, 1963-2021],
[
Series 4: Administrative Records, 1954-2022],
[
Series 5: Personal Papers, 1951-2021],
[
Series 6: Harmonic Tone Generator Components and Research, 1963-1966],
[
All]
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