Finding Your Whistle

Oakcrest School was excited to host Mr. Christopher Ullman, father of Alydia, Class of 2020, as the keynote speaker of the 2018 Honor Society Induction.  The four-time International Whistling Champion, Christopher Ullman, presented stories from his recently published book, Find Your Whistle, the heartwarming, hilarious, and outrageous journey of a Washington and Wall Street insider who uses his simple gift to touch hearts and change lives.

Chris started his puckered pursuits at age five, whistled incessantly while delivering newspapers as a teen, jammed with jazz bands in college, and worked the open mike circuit in his Washington, DC home in the 1980s-90s. He competed nine times at the National and International Whistling Convention and served as a judge twice.

Chris has appeared on The Tonight Show, The Today Show, CNN, NPR, CNBC and has been featured in The New York Times, People Magazine, The Washington Post, and Time Magazine. His repertoire includes classical, blues, jazz, Broadway, and rock. In 2000, Chris was named the Lillian Williams Whistling Entertainer of the Year, and in 2003 he released his debut CD, The Symphonic Whistler. In 2012 Chris was inducted into the International Whistling Hall of Fame.

By day Chris is a Director of Global Communications at The Carlyle Group, an investment firm based in Washington, D.C.