School of Music

Samantha Wyland joined Illinois Wesleyan University’s School of Music as Adjunct
Instructor of Flute in 2024. She also teaches private flute lessons through the Ralla
Klepak Foundation and the Woodwind Preparatory Department at IWU. She holds a
Master of Music in Performance degree from Illinois State University, where she was a
student of Dr. Kimberly Risinger. She was the Graduate Assistant for the flute studio,
and taught flute minors and coached chamber music ensembles. Samantha won the
2020-2021 ISU Concerto-Aria Competition and the 2022 ISU Band Concerto
Competition. Samantha holds a Bachelor of Music in Performance degree from Messiah
University, and while there won the 2018 Keith Lance Kuhlman Award Competition and
the 2019 Messiah University Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition. She has
given numerous solo and chamber music performances throughout the US, including
masterclass performances with pedagogues such as Jocelyn Goranson, Lorna McGee,
Christina Jennings, Lisa Garner Santa, and the US Army Woodwind Quintet.

Samantha is active in the music community in the Central Illinois area. She has given
masterclasses at local schools, and served as a clinician and adjudicator at music
camps and festivals such as IWU’s Chamber Music Festival and ILMEA Solo and
Ensemble Competitions.
She has performed with various ensembles in the area, including the Illinois Symphony
Orchestra and the Prairie Wind Ensemble. Passionate about a holistic approach to
teaching and performing, Samantha strives to encourage her students to maintain their
physical and mental well-being. She understands the important role of music from
infancy through adulthood, and aims to portray that to her students in a way that aligns