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"'Dr. William "Doc" Ballard'" (1922-2006) was a music educator, choral conductor, and researcher. "Doc," as he was referred to by his students, was Artistic Director of the San Francisco Boys Chorus and the Singing Boys of San Francisco after directing the Northwestern University and Centenary College Choral Programs.

Early Life and Education
Born William Joseph Ballard to parents John and Clara, Ballard was the eighth of nine children. He grew up in Opelousas, Louisiana. He pursued his Bachelor's degree in music at Chicago Musical College, but his education was interrupted by WWII, in which he served his country as a naval aviator aboard the USS Intrepid. He completed his Bachelor's degree in voice in 1947, going on to receive a Masters in Music Theory, again from Chicago Musical College, and a Doctorate in Music History and Literature from Northwestern University in 1957. In his college years, Ballard was a Fullbright Scholar, and pursued research opportunities in Florence, Italy for two years.

Northwestern University
Immediately after receiving his doctorate, Ballard took up the post of Director of Choral Organizations at Northwestern University. He held the post for 17 years. Ballard directed several ensembles while at Northwestern, sometimes having multiple performances in the same day. Ballard also formed, directed, and snag with the Tudor Singers while at Northwestern.

England
In 1969, Ballard uprooted to the United Kingdom, where he and his family spent a year. While in England, Ballard was the Head of the Music Department at Ely High School, Cambridge, England. Ballard also spent time researching the English choral tradition. He also edited a number of madrigals and other Renaissance music, which was published through Alliance Publications.

Centenary College
Ballard and his family moved back to the United States in 1971, and he took up another Director's position at Centenary College, Louisiana. For the two years he was at Centenary, Ballard also served as an Associate Professor of Music History and Conducting.

SFBC and Singing Boys
In 1974, Ballard uprooted again to become the Artistic Director of the San Francisco Boys Chorus. Formed barely 25 years earlier by Madi Bacon, Dr. Ballard developed the group into one of the nation's preeminent Boys Choirs. Under Ballard, the Boys Chorus toured extensively across the nation and the world, visiting four continents and singing at the Vatican for Pope Saint John Paul II. In training youth, Ballard remarked "By and large, they [the boys] are the fastest and easiest singers to work with -- it's usually the parents who are the problem." His fundraising efforts for the Boys Chorus were also notable: he developed a madrigal dinner entitled "The Old English Christmas Family Feast and Revels," held each year at the Mark Hopkins, which raised substantial funds for the choir program. The "Feast," as it was called, is carried on today by the Golden Gate Boys Choir and Bellringers. Ballard left the Boy's Chorus in 1985 amid problems with the Board of Directors to form the Singing Boys of the San Francisco Bay. The Singing Boys.