Beauchamp, James W. (1937-2022) | University of Illinois Archives

Name: Beauchamp, James W. (1937-2022)

Historical 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, composition professor Lejaren Hiller during his PhD studies to create the Harmonic Tone Generator, 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 engineering faculty 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 appoitment in electrical engineering and music. During his tenure at Illinois, he served as director of the School of Music's Experimental Music Studios, during which time he headed the Hybrid Computer Project and the Computer Music Project. 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.

Note Author: Nolan Vallier