Thurlow Lieurance was born near Oskaloosa, Iowa on March 21, 1878.   Lieurance and his wife Edna Woolley Lieurance appeared together in concert from 1918 to 1927. During this time, in 1924, he graduated with a Doctor of Music degree from the College of Music in Cincinnati. After they ended their concert appearances, the Lieurances settled in Wichita for the next 20 years. From 1927 to 1947, they were faculty members at the University of Wichita.

Many honors were given to Lieurance. Among them were ones in honor of the memory of Thurlow Lieurance and recognition in the Armed Forces by President John F. Kennedy, and recognition of achievement in music education, history, and composition by the University of Wichita Alumni Association. In 1931, he received a diploma in composition from the Ecoles D'Art, Americans in France, Coservatoire de Musique, and a scholarship from the Theodore Presser Music Company for study at the Fontainebleau School of Music in France.   In 1933, Lieurance received honors for musical research among American Indians from the American Scientific Research Society. In 1934, he received honors from the Wichita Chamber of Commerce for the premieres of the symphonic works, "Trails Southwest" and "The Conquistador." In 1959, he received honors from the Chamber of Commerce of Boulder, Colorado, and a symphonic program was dedicated to him. Lieurance also received honors at a dedication ceremony by the Minnesota Chambers of Commerce for Thurlow and Edna Lieurance as distinguished citizens of the state of Minnesota.

Lieurance contributed American Indian songs that he recorded to the Library of Congress. He wrote a handbook of Indian music, art, language, and ceremony, titled To Dance, Live, Love, and Sing, in 1940 at Santa Fe, New Mexico. He published many songs and solos for piano-violin-flute-clarinet ensembles, octavo arrangements for vocal ensembles, and five major symphonic orchestra works. Lieurance is also well known for the Indian flutes that he made. He died in 1963.

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