Michael Merolla, NCTM (Nationally Certified Teacher of Music), has been teaching piano since 1970 and holds a permanent professional certificate in the area of teaching piano from the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA). He began his career in the William Floyd School District in 1977 and worked in various capacities until his retirement in 2010, including serving as an elementary general music and chorus teacher, as well as a high school music theory teacher, group piano instruction teacher, and, for a short time, overseeing the select chorus.

Mr. Merolla has also served as a presenter at NYSSMA (New York State School Music Association), NYSMTA (New York State Music Teachers Association) and MTNA national conventions and has been a guest speaker at NYU for teacher education classes. He has also accompanied several SCMEA (Suffolk County Music Educators’ Association) festival choruses and served as secretary/treasurer of SCMEA for one term. Additionally, Michael was the state president of NYSMTA from 1990-1992 followed by several terms as treasurer. He has received numerous awards including LIU “Teacher of the Year” honors in 1995, the NYSMTA Citation in 1998, a William Floyd Renaissance award in 2001, and William Floyd Alumni Association Outstanding Educator award in 2010. Michael currently supervises student teachers for Queens College, part of the City University of New York system, a role that he served in since 2015.