Dr. Sarah Ballman began her studies at South Dakota State University (Brookings). After receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree in Vocal Performance, Ballman moved to Indiana, where she completed her Master of Music and Doctor of Music degrees in Vocal Performance at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music (Bloomington). Her doctoral studies concluded with the completion of her document, A Catalogue of Mélodies Composed by Pauline Viardot.

While at IU, Ballman performed with various ensembles, such as the Contemporary Vocal Ensemble, Conductor’s Choruses, and the Joshi Handel Project. Her roles with IU Opera Theater included Una Conversa in Puccini’s Suor Angelica, Octavian in Strauss; Der Rosenkavalier, Prince Charmant in Massenet’s Cendrillon, Nefertiti in Philip Glass; Akhnaten, Thi Kinh in the world premiere of P.Q. Phan’s The Tale of Lady Thi Kinh, and Sister Helen Prejean in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking.

Outside of academia, Ballman has performed with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra as the alto soloist for Handel’s Messiah, the Colgate University choir in New York as the alto soloist for Rossini’s Stabat Mater, the Bloomington Chamber Singers as the alto soloist for Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, and with the Mon Choeur and Alchymy Viols ensemble concert series. She is a first-call session vocalist at the Aire Born Group recording studio where she records choral arrangements and compositions in many different styles for various music publishing companies. She is also the song leader at First Baptist Church of Indianapolis.

Dr. Ballman lives in Noblesville, IN with her husband, Brett, and their children, Isaac and Isabelle.