A music major, Donald Plott Scholar, and Harper Scholar at Davidson College, Lee Ballard started playing the violin at age 7 after seeing the Disney Young Musicians' Symphony Orchestra (DYMSO) on TV. Although Lee later took percussion and even played percussion and guitar with DYMSO one year, he began studying the violin seriously again in high school with Dorothy Kitchen, and in college at the studio of Martha Koljonen. At Davidson, Lee developed an interest in the academic study of music, and found the Davidson Music Department a perfect blend of the applied and scholarly music disciplines--thus his music major. On campus Lee enjoyed playing in the Davidson College Symphony Orchestra and other musical groups, being a leader of the Methodist College Fellowship, ecumenical Christian worship services, cheeseburgers, learning languages, and getting to know international students. Due to interests in language and the international community, Lee decided to spend his junior year abroad in Würzburg, Germany. In addition to taking classes in German language, musicology, and linguistics at the University he was enrolled in, Ballard studied violin in the studio of Herwig Zack at the Würzburg conservatory. He returned to Davidson in the Fall of 2006 for his senior year. After he graduated, Lee hoped either to study linguistics directly or to spend more time abroad.