Associate Professor and Interim Chair of Music at the University of Mississippi, Nancy Maria Balach is a versatile soprano who has been described by American Record Guide as "sweet and tender ..., projecting music, text, and character." Her performing career has included opera, operetta, musical theatre, concert, cabaret, song recital, and chamber music. Professor Balach has been on the faculty at the University of Mississippi since 2000 and has taught courses in applied voice, graduate pedagogy, undergraduate diction, and vocal methods for instrumentalists. Balach is the Mississippi District Governor for the Mississippi Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. She received her BFA in Vocal Performance from Carnegie Mellon University and her MM in Vocal Performance from the Manhattan School of Music.