William Heiles (1937-) | University of Illinois Archives

Name: William Heiles (1937-)

Fuller Form: William Hunter Heiles

Historical Note: William Heiles (1937- ) was born in Brooklyn, NY. He earned his B.Mus. degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in 1958. Following two years of study at the Städtliche Hochschule für Musik in Munich, Germany, on a Fulbright grant, he earned his M.M, and D.M.A. degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Heiles was the first pianist to earn a DMA degree from UIUC, studying with Stanley Fletcher and Soulima Stravinsky. Beginning in 1968, he became a member of the piano faculty at the University of Illinois, serving as chair of the Piano Division from 1980 until his retirement. Professor Heiles performed frequently as pianist and harpsichordist in recitals and festivals. His repertoire spanned the early Baroque to the present, with special emphasis on Bach, Chopin, Schumann, and music of recent decades. He has presented numerous local premieres of major works by Pierre Boulez, Elliott Carter, Gyorgy Ligeti, and other contemporary composers.

Sources:

School of Music Emeritus Faculty website

William Heiles, "Rhythmic Nuance in Chopin Performances Recorded by Moriz Rosenthal, Ignaz Friedman, and Ignaz Jan Paderewski," DMA Dissertation, UIUC, 1964.