Michael Ballam, General Director of the Utah Festival Opera and Professor of Music at Utah State University

Michael Ballam has had an operatic and recital career spanning four decades and every continent.  A native of Logan, Utah, Mr. Ballam has performed in the major concert halls of America, Europe, Asia, Russia and the Middle East, with command performances at the Vatican and the White House.  His operatic repertoire includes more than 600 performances of over 70 major roles.  He has shared the stage with the world’s greatest singers, including Joan Sutherland, Kiri Te Kanawa, Birgit Nilsson, Beverly Sills, Placido Domingo and Ethel Merman performing regularly with such companies as the Chicago Lyric, San Francisco, Santa Fe, Dallas, Washington, Philadelphia, St. Louis and San Diego Operas.

As a recitalist, Mr. Ballam has performed with critical acclaim in some of the most important concert halls in the country, including the Kennedy Center (Washington DC), Orchestra Hall (Chicago), Jordan Hall (Boston), Jones Hall (Houston), and the Los Angeles Music Center.         

                                                                 
At the age of 24, Mr. Ballam became the youngest recipient of the degree of Doctor of Music with Distinction in the history of the prestigious Indiana University.  He is a professor of music at Utah State University and an accomplished pianist and oboist.   A Professor of Music at Utah State University, he is the author of over 40 publications and recordings in international distribution, has a weekly radio program on Utah Public Radio, starred in 3 major motion pictures and appears regularly on television, and serves on the Board of Directors of twelve professional Arts organizations.

  Mr. Ballam also currently serves as General Director of the Utah Festival Opera, a company he founded in 1993.  It has become one of the nation’s major summer festivals, with growing international critical acclaim.
With all of Mr. Ballam’s professional and academic achievements, he is most comfortable at the bedside of a terminally ill patient singing a favorite melody of hope, or volunteering in the class room enlightening children to the magic and wonder of Mozart and Beethoven.

Michael Ballam has received critical acclaim with the major opera companies of the USA and a recital career in the most important Concert Halls of every continent. His operatic repertoire includes more than 600 performances of over 70 major roles sharing the stage with the world’s greatest singers. At the age of 24, Mr. Ballam became the youngest recipient of the degree of Doctor of Music with Distinction in the history of Indiana University. An accomplished pianist and oboist, he is the Founder and General Director of the Utah Festival Opera, which is fast becoming one of the nation’s major Opera Festivals. A Professor of Music at Utah State University, he is the author of over 40 publications and recordings in international distribution, has a weekly radio program on Utah Public Radio, starred in 3 major motion pictures and appears regularly on television, and serves on the Board of Directors of twelve professional Arts organizations.