Rebekah Stiles

Originally from Souderton, PA, Rebekah Stiles is a doctoral candidate in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Glenn Korff School of Music, where she served as studio assistant to Dr. Paul Barnes. She holds Bachelor’s degrees in Piano Performance and Bible from Cairn University, where she studied with Kenneth Borrmann, and a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she studied with Paul Barnes.

As a performer and collaborator, Stiles has exercised her versatility over the past seven years in the solo, chamber, and church settings. Her recent solo recitals have featured the works of Liszt, Schubert, Rameau, Janáček, Bartók, and Barber, and she has given solo performances both locally and internationally. In 2019, she received first-place honors in the Crescendo International Music Competition, delivering a winner’s performance at Carnegie Hall. In 2022 and 2023, she participated in the Piano Plus Festival in Xanthi, Greece, and she has performed in masterclasses with Arnaldo Cohen, the Naughton Duo, Behzod Abduraimov, and Emanuel Ax. As a collaborative musician, Stiles has performed as soloist with the Cairn Symphony Orchestra in 2019 and with the UNL Symphony Orchestra in 2022 and 2023. During her time at Cairn, she specialized in piano duet repertoire, and she has since expanded her scope to encompass a wide variety of works, including multiple world premieres. Stiles also holds eight years’ professional experience as a choral accompanist, and she has led a fruitful career as a church pianist since 2013.

As a scholar, Stiles is deeply interested in the intersection of worldview and art, specifically the musical implications of major theological rifts within Christendom. Her upcoming doctoral document, “Creed and Variations,” will explore the musical trichotomy of Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant traditions, featuring select works of J. S. Bach, Olivier Messiaen, and Arvo Pärt.