Michael Lynn Ballam (born August 21, 1951)[3][4] is an American opera singer, educator, and arts administrator.
[2][11] Ballam credits his great-grandfather, an immigrant from Denmark, as an inspiration for his pursuit of music and Latter-day Saint Christianity.
[14] He attended Sky View High School in the neighboring town of Smithfield,[15] where he was cast as Wang Ta in Flower Drum Song and Billy Bigelow in Carousel, among others.
[16] After graduation, he attended the nearby Utah State University to pursue a degree in music education.
[17][18] 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.
As an actor, Ballam has starred in Clubhouse Detectives,[29][30] 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.
[36] 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.
[32][46] 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.
[51] In 1999, Ballam sang "Panis Angelicus" by Cesar Franck at the funeral of his friend and supporter,[52] influential LDS author and historian Leonard J.
After graduation, he was granted a Ford Foundation Fellowship, which allowed him further study at Stanford and Columbia Universities.
[65] Michael's son, Benjamin, whose mobility is affected by spina bifida,[66][67] has appeared in some Utah Festival productions.