Alumni Recital: Christiana Ostoich, flute; Joel Smith, clarinet; and Janna Williamson, piano

Alumni Christiana Ostoich, flute (2012), Joel Smith, clarinet (2014), and Janna Williamson, piano (2001) will be performing works by Brahms, Prokofiev, and Connesson.

Joel Smith is a 2014 graduate of Wheaton where he was a student of Trevor O’Riordan, Sunshine Simmons and Kara Bancks and a member of the Symphony Orchestra and Symphonic Band. After graduating from Wheaton, Joel continued his studies at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, where he studied under Michael Rusinek, and in 2018 he completed a Master of Music in Orchestral Studies from the Chicago College of Performing Arts (Roosevelt University) under John Bruce Yeh and Charlene Zimmerman. He has performed with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago as well as the CCPA and Carnegie Mellon Symphony Orchestras.

Christiana (Wismer) Ostoich graduated from Wheaton in 2012.  While at Wheaton, she studied with Jennie Brown, won the 2011 chamber competition, and performed in the Symphony Orchestra and Symphonic Band.  Christiana completed a master’s degree in Music Theory & Cognition at Northwestern University in 2014 and has been a member of the Wheaton Municipal Band.  Christiana teaches flute in Glen Ellyn and works with Steve Williamson (2001) in music and the arts at Church of the Resurrection.

Janna (Burkhart) Williamson graduated from Wheaton in 2001 where she studied with Karin Redekopp Edwards and was the overall winner of the concerto competition in 1999. Janna was a member of the Women’s Chorale (serving as an accompanist one year) and Concert Choir (serving as president her senior year). She holds a masters degree from the Chicago College of Performing Arts (Roosevelt University) where she studied with Winston Choi as well as studying collaborative piano with Dana Brown (vocal) and Angela Yoffe (instrumental). Janna is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music and teaches piano at the Wheaton Yamaha Music School and in her home in West Chicago. She is a regular volunteer in the music ministry at Church of the Resurrection.

The concert will be held in Armerding Center for Music and the Arts Recital Hall, which is located at 520 E. Kenilworth Ave. on Wheaton’s campus. Admission is free. For more information, call 630.752.5099.