Bathja Bayer earned her PhD in Musicology at the University of Zurich in 1959, and later a diploma of librarianship from The Hebrew University. From 1964 to 1974, she directed the Music Department of the Jewish National and University Library. She was a senior lecturer in the Department of Musicology of The Hebrew University, Jerusalem; an affiliated researcher of the JMRC; and a past president of the Israel Musicological Society. She co-edited Yuval – Studies of Jewish Music, volumes 1-5. Dr. Bayer was a pioneer in the interdisciplinary study of music and archaeology of the ancient Near Eastern civilizations, focusing on music and musical instruments in the Bible. As head of the Music Department, she initiated the collection of documentation on the Israeli song. She left a legacy of musical lore, which largely, remains unpublished.