Michael Ballam
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox person
Michael Lynn Ballam (born August 21, 1951)<ref name=IntWho'sWho>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> is an American opera singer, educator, and arts administrator.
He is the founding general director of Utah Festival Opera<ref name=Mesa /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and a professor of music at Utah State University. He has served on the faculty of the Music Academy of the West, where he also studied,<ref name=IntWho'sWho /><ref name="MAotW alumni">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and as a guest lecturer at Stanford, Yale, Catholic University,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Manhattan School of Music.
BiographyEdit
Early life and educationEdit
Michael Ballam was born in Logan, Utah to Grant Lamb Ballam, a pharmacist, and his wife, Marianne Fullmer.<ref name=Stowe>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name= "Who's Who">Template:Cite book</ref> He was raised in River Heights, a town adjacent to Logan.<ref name=Opsahl /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Ballam credits his great-grandfather, an immigrant from Denmark, as an inspiration for his pursuit of music and Latter-day Saint Christianity.<ref name=FAIR /><ref>Template:Cite interview</ref>
In 1956, he made his stage debut at Logan's Capitol Theatre, now the Ellen Eccles Theatre.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He attended Sky View High School in the neighboring town of Smithfield,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> where he was cast as Wang Ta in Flower Drum Song and Billy Bigelow in Carousel, among others.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After graduation, he attended the nearby Utah State University to pursue a degree in music education.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He continued to sing in musical theater productions and expanded his repertoire to include opera, oratorio, and concert recital works.
At the age of 24, Ballam became the youngest recipient of a Doctor of Music with Distinction in the history of Indiana University.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> At Indiana, his ten roles performed included Andres in Wozzeck, the title role in The Tales of Hoffmann, and Rodolfo in La bohème. In 1976, he was the first student to perform the title role in Parsifal.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Professional workEdit
Ballam has performed with many national houses, including the San Francisco,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Metropolitan,<ref name=Perkins>Template:Cite thesis</ref> Houston Grand,<ref name=Perkins /> Washington National,<ref name=Perkins /><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> San Diego,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Michigan<ref name=Townley>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Operas. In 1978, he premiered the role of Beelzebub in Penderecki's opera Paradise Lost at Chicago Lyric Opera.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Ballam also premiered the role of Coyote in Mollicone's 1998 opera Coyote Tales.<ref name=Mesa>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
Ballam's recital venues have included Kennedy Center,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Notre-Dame, and the Salt Lake Tabernacle. Ballam has also performed as a soloist at the White House and the Vatican.
As an actor, Ballam has starred in Clubhouse Detectives,<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/{{#if: 0050511
| name/{{#if:{{#invoke:ustring|match|1=0050511|2=^nm}}
| Template:Trim/
| nm0050511/
}}
| {{#if: {{#property:P345}}
| name/Template:First word/
| find?q=%7B%7B%23if%3A+%0A++++++%7C+%7B%7B%7Bname%7D%7D%7D%0A++++++%7C+%5B%5B%3ATemplate%3APAGENAMEBASE%5D%5D%0A++++++%7D%7D&s=nm
}}
}}{{#if: 0050511 {{#property:P345}} | {{#switch:
| award | awards = awards Awards for | biography | bio = bio Biography for
}}}} {{#if:
| {{{name}}}
| Template:PAGENAMEBASE
}}] at IMDb{{#if: 0050511{{#property:P345}}
| Template:EditAtWikidata
| Template:Main other
}}{{#switch:{{#invoke:string2|matchAny|^nm.........|^nm.......|nm|.........|source=0050511|plain=false}}
| 1 | 3 = Template:Main otherTemplate:Preview warning | 4 = Template:Main otherTemplate:Preview warning
}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:IMDb name with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|showblankpositional=1| 1 | 2 | id | name | section }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> as the Apostle Paul in the BYU Studios biopic The Chosen Vessel, as well as Lucifer in the 1990 temple film used in the endowment ordinance.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Ballam is also an oboist and pianist.<ref name=Orellana>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
IllnessEdit
In 1987, Ballam was performing La Traviata in Caracas when he suddenly lost his ability to sing. He returned to his home in New York City and visited his ENT. After testing, Ballam was informed that the cause of his illness was a mystery and that he should prepare for a poor prognosis. Physicians in Denver and Houston provided similar perspectives. He returned to his family in Logan, Utah. It was later discovered that Ballam had suffered from a sinus infection that had progressed into his cranial cavity as a bone infection and subsequently into his lungs. Doctors operated on his skull and prescribed a regimen of antibiotics. Ballam recovered quickly.<ref name=Benson>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Utah Festival OperaEdit
When Ballam returned to Logan in 1987, he joined the music faculty of Utah State University.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was soon notified that the Capitol Theatre, where Ballam first performed as a child, was to be torn down to make room for a parking lot. Ballam ran a successful, multi-million dollar campaign to save, restore, and expand the building, which had fallen into disrepair. Upon completion, the theater had its name changed to the Ellen Eccles Theatre, honoring the community service and character of Ellen Stoddard Eccles (1867-1957) and her family.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Israelsen /> In subsequent years, Ballam has also led the restoration and renovation projects of several other historic cultural landmarks in Logan, Utah, including the Utah Theatre and the Dansante Building.<ref name=Boone /><ref name=Israelsen>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
In 1992, Ballam founded Utah Festival Opera,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> which presented its first season in the summer of 1993.<ref name=Benson /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Since its inception, Ballam has stood as general director of the company, as well as one of its recurring performers. Most Utah Festival Opera productions are performed on the stages of the Ellen Eccles and Utah Theatres. The repertory company has continued to grow, now staging six shows and several concerts each summer.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
For the 30th anniversary season in 2022, Ballam reprised his role as Cervantes/Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Additional contributionsEdit
Template:Quote box Ballam has authored over forty publications and recordings in international distribution, and produced/performed a weekly radio program on Utah Public Radio.<ref name=Orellana /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He is frequently asked to hold lectures worldwide on the creative arts, more specifically music, and their interaction with the functions of the mind, their use in enhancing education, and as sources of therapy and motivation.
Ballam currently serves on the Board of Directors of several professional arts organizations.
AchievementsEdit
- 1996: 100 Top Achievers in the State of Utah, awarded by Prime Minister Margaret ThatcherTemplate:Citation needed
- 2003: Artist Extraordinaire, appointed by Governor Olene Walker
- 2007: Excellence in Community Teaching Award, given by the Daughters of the American Revolution
- 2010: Gardner Award, given by the Utah Academy of Science, Arts & Letters, for “Significant Contributions in the Humanities to the State of Utah”
- Honorary Life Membership to the Utah Congress of Parents and Teachers
FaithEdit
Ballam is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.<ref name=FAIR>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite speech</ref> He has written and lectured on the relationship between music and the doctrines of the Church.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite speech</ref><ref>Template:Cite speech</ref> The Church created the position of "musical missionary-at-large" specifically for him.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 1999, Ballam sang "Panis Angelicus" by Cesar Franck at the funeral of his friend and supporter,<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> influential LDS author and historian Leonard J. Arrington.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Ballam also sang for the 90th birthday celebration of LDS president Gordon B. Hinckley.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
FamilyEdit
Ballam's grandfather, Oral Ballam, was a veteran in World War II. When he returned to the United States, he was educated at Utah State University, and received an Ed. D. from UCLA. After graduation, he was granted a Ford Foundation Fellowship, which allowed him further study at Stanford and Columbia Universities. He was a public school administrator in Cache Valley before becoming a professor at USU in 1963. In 1969, he was appointed Dean of the College of Education, retiring in 1992.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Ballam is also descended from J. W. Summerhays, the patriarch of a musical dynasty in the Utah region and a singer himself. Summerhays emigrated from Europe as an LDS convert in 1866.<ref name=Stowe /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Michael's daughter, Vanessa, is a performer,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> stage director,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and former Miss Utah.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She is also a theatre professor at Idaho State University<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and education director for Utah Festival Opera.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Michael's son, Benjamin, whose mobility is affected by spina bifida,<ref>Template:Cite speech</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> has appeared in some Utah Festival productions.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Michael Ballam has four other children with his wife, Laurie. He currently resides in Logan, Utah.