Michael Ballam has had an operatic and recital career spanning four decades and six continents. A native of Logan, Utah, Dr. 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 has performed regularly with critical acclaim in some of the most important concert halls and companies in the country including the Chicago Lyric, San Francisco, Santa Fe, Dallas, Washington, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and San Diego Operas. At age 24, Dr. Ballam became the youngest recipient of the degree of Doctor of Music with Distinction in the history of the prestigious Indiana University. 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, appears regularly on television, and serves on the Board of Directors of twelve professional Arts organizations, and is an accomplished pianist and oboist. Dr. Ballam currently serves as the 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 national critical acclaim. It was recently ranked as one of the world's top 20 summer opera festivals by "Money Magazine."