Paul Edmund Bierley (February 3, 1926 – April 9, 2016) was an American music historian. Among his awards were a

Society for American Music The Society for American Music (SAM) was founded in 1975 and was first named the Sonneck Society in honor of Oscar George Theodore Sonneck, early Chief of the Music Division in the Library of Congress and pioneer scholar of American music. The S ...

Lifetime Achievement Award and receiving an Honorary Doctor of Music from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

Career

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

era, he was a B-25 bomber radio operator and gunner for the Army Air Forces and served in the United States."Oral History Interview of Mr. Paul E. Bierley"
Indiana University Tuba-Euphonium Oral History Project, March 26, 2000. Interview conducted by Carole Nowicke. Accessed January 20, 2019. He was stationed at

Westover Air Force Base Westover may refer to: People * Al Westover (born 1954), American professional basketball player in Australia * Arthur Westover (1864–1935), Canadian sport shooter and 1908 Olympian * Charles Westover (1934–1990), better known as Del Shannon, ...

and played in the Army Air Forces band. He married Pauline in 1948. He graduated with a degree in

aeronautical engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is sim ...

from

in 1953, and worked for North American Aviation and Ellanef Manufacturing. Bierley later began an active musical career. He conducted extensive research on

John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa ( ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era known primarily for American military marches. He is known as "The March King" or the "American March King", to dis ...

and wrote books about him,

Henry Fillmore Henry Fillmore (December 3, 1881 – December 7, 1956) was an American musician, composer, publisher, and bandleader, best known for his many marches and screamers, a few of which he wrote for the Band of the Hour at the University of Miami in ...

, and historical books about music. He wrote liner notes for album and CDs and magazine articles. He portrayed

Uncle Sam Uncle Sam (which has the same initials as ''United States'') is a common national personification of the federal government of the United States or the country in general. Since the early 19th century, Uncle Sam has been a popular symbol of ...

at band concerts and lectured on musical subjects. Bierley founded Integrity Research Foundation and Integrity Press. He had relationships with local music organizations like Brass Band of Columbus,

Columbus Symphony Orchestra The Columbus Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Columbus, Ohio. The oldest performing arts organization in the city, its home is the Ohio Theatre. The orchestra's current Executive Director is Denise Rehg. Ross ...

, Detroit Concert Band, Wheeling Steel Band of Portsmouth, Ohio Village Brass, the Virginia Grand Military Band, as well as the North American Aviation Concert Band, the New Sousa Band, and the World Symphony Orchestra. He was a member of the Tubists Universal Brotherhood Association and the International Tuba and Euphonium Society. Among his awards were a Society of American Music Lifetime Achievement Award and receiving an Honorary Doctor of Music from Ohio State University.

Personal life

Paul Edmund Bierley, the son of William and Minnie Bierley, was born in 1926 in

Portsmouth, Ohio Portsmouth is a city in and the county seat of Scioto County, Ohio, United States. Located in southern Ohio south of Chillicothe, it lies on the north bank of the Ohio River, across from Kentucky, just east of the mouth of the Scioto River. ...

. He married Pauline in 1948, with whom they had son John and daughter Lois. He lived much of his married life in

Westerville, Ohio Westerville is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, Franklin and Delaware County, Ohio, Delaware counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. A northeastern suburb of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, the population was 39,190 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

. Pauline died before Bierley, who died on April 9, 2016. His remains were donated to the

Ohio State University College of Medicine The Ohio State University College of Medicine (formerly known as The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health) is the medical school at The Ohio State University and is located in Columbus, Ohio. The college is nationally re ...

Bibliography

His notable books are: * ''John Philip Sousa: American Phenomenon'' (1973); * ''The Music of Henry Fillmore and Will Huff'' (1982); * ''The Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music, Composers and their music'' (2 Vol.s), by William Harold Rehrig (born 1939), Paul Bierley (1991); * ''Marching Along: Recollections of Men, Women and Music'' (1994); * ''The Incredible Band of John Philip Sousa'' (2010); * ''New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial''

References

External links

Paul E. Bierley
University of Illinois Library
Paul Bierley
NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Oral History Interviews {{DEFAULTSORT:Bierley, Paul E. 1926 births 2016 deaths Ohio State University College of Engineering alumni Aerospace engineers People from Portsmouth, Ohio People from Westerville, Ohio John Philip Sousa American music historians United States Army Air Forces soldiers United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Historians from Ohio