Balt is currently the high school vocal music teach at MOC-Floyd Valley Community School District in Orange City, along with serving as co-director of the fall musical.

“I’m looking forward to getting to know the families and staff at St. Edmond, and building on the strong foundation already in place,” Balt said. “In addition, I am excited to be able to move back to the area and reconnect with some friends I have made while I taught in Webster City.

“I am thankful for this opportunity to be able to continue to inspire the next generation of music makers.”

A graduate of the University of Sioux Falls with degrees in music education and music (vocal performance emphasis), Balt started his teaching career in Sioux Falls, S.D., at Bishop O’Gorman Catholic School instructing elementary music and strings.

From there, he was the vocal and general music teacher for the middle school in Webster City along with leading eighth-grade digital learning.

Balt relocated to be closer to home during the COVID pandemic, landing at MOC-Floyd Valley. He has also been involved in local theatre productions while playing the piano for three different congregations in northwest Iowa.

Balt became immersed in music and the process of teaching music at an early age.

“My elementary music teachers instilled a passion for music in me alongside my mother, who played piano and organ in my church growing up,” he said. “Once I grew older, I started singing and playing my instruments for church and other functions, and I fell in love with the art of music making. Moreover, the friends I made from various music and fine arts events really inspired me to be my best and to continue that for the next generation.

“When I got to college, originally, I wanted to be a music therapist, but my college choir director sat me down and said, you really should do music education. He believed in me, and from that point on, I knew that I wanted to be a teacher to inspire young people to reach their fullest potential.”

The position at St. Edmond grabbed the attention of Balt because of the “positive intentionality of the community that was built into the school.”

“Also, the support that I felt was really a gift to see and witness from the interview committee,” he said. “Everybody was so friendly and very hospitable when I visited. It felt as if I had been there for years.

“Furthermore, I am excited to be able to walk and talk with students about their own faith journeys and how music can be a catalyst to inspire them to want to know God more.”

Balt hopes to help the students of St. Edmond realize that “their voice truly matters wherever life may take them.”

“We are each gifted with a unique ability to express ourselves, and when we unite those individual voices, we have the power to create meaningful, positive change for the common good,” he said. “To me, choral singing is the ultimate vehicle for that, and it’s an art form that allows us to serve the world through the music we share.”