Binghamton University’s notable alumni include prominent businessmen, athletes, actors and musicians. And then there’s a whistler.

The four-time national and international whistling champion Chris Ullman (‘86), also known as The Happy Whistler, has become one of the greatest whistlers in the world. His favorite genres are classical, blues and show tunes, but he’s able to whistle almost anything that has a melody. From making appearances on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” to performing for the president of the United States in the Oval Office, the past 30 years have been a musical journey for Ullman.

The Binghamton alumnus and Long Island native whistled the national anthem before last Saturday’s basketball game. No stranger to opening for sports teams, Ullman has performed the national anthem for the Washington Nationals, Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Lakers, among many others.

While he was at BU, Ullman could be seen on his skateboard going from class to class while whistling any tune he had stuck in his head. When he wasn’t in class, he was an apprentice DJ for a classical radio show at WHRW 90.5 FM. In 1983, he had his first whistling performance at a talent show on campus in the Newing dining hall.

Ullman said he’s impressed with the current talented musical acts on campus, like Explorchestra and the “Sax Guy,” Jack Manzi, who plays his saxophone on The Object in Dickinson Community. When asked to come up with a new nickname for Manzi, he suggested “The Objectivist,” and that he name an album “The Object of My Desire.”

For students who hope to perform after graduation, Ullman stressed that they have to be unique to stand out.

“You have to be creative,” Ullman said, stressing that marketing and venue choice are important. “There are all of these nooks and crannies around campus that I saw where you could play.”

With his own art, Ullman has expressed the struggle of being taken seriously as a musician who only whistles. His biggest challenge yet is trying to acquire a spot for the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center.

“The challenge faced is a very binary thing,” Ullman said. “Either someone thinks it’s awesome and cool or they’ll just say ‘see ya!’”

Clearly, many people think it’s awesome because Ullman has shown off his skills for some big and important audiences. The first was a performance at the U.S. Capitol where he whistled in front of 60,000 people.

“It was a gig of a lifetime,” Ullman said. “I had to pinch myself to make sure it was actually happening. I almost screwed up at it. Before I walked onto the stage I completely forgot my note. Once I walked onto the stage and started whistling muscle memory kicked in. After a minute it all caught up to me and I was back to normal.” After the show Ullman came back onto the stage and taught the entire crowed of 60,000 attendees how to whistle the song he performed.

The second performance happened in the Oval Office for President George W. Bush. While working as the White House Budget spokesman in 2001, he was invited to perform for the president during a seemingly normal day at work, and was given only 15 minutes’ notice from his boss about the performance for the commander-in-chief. He performed “The Lone Ranger” song for the president and received a great deal of praise. After the song, Bush wrote a note to Ullman’s father about how Chris came to the Oval Office to share his gift with him.

Along with his performances, Ullman has also been a speaker at TEDxMidAtlantic in Washington, DC. During the show, he spoke about his experiences performing around the world and how much joy that he and others have received from his whistling.

At the end of both his TEDx show and the interview, he stressed how everyone should “go find your whistle.”