Dr. Michael S. Zelenak earned a Bachelor of Music degree in music history/musicology from the University of Michigan, a Master of Arts degree in music education from the University of South Florida, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in music education from the University of South Florida. He has received recognition as a National Board Certified Teacher of choral music for early adolescence through young adulthood.

Dr. Zelenak is an experienced educator having taught chorus, string orchestra, guitar, keyboard, and general music at the middle and high school levels in Pinellas County, FL. He also taught undergraduate and graduate level courses at the University of South Florida where he was awarded the Outstanding Merit Award in Music Education from the USF School of Music, the Distinguished Graduate Achievement Award from the USF College of The Arts, and recognition from the USF provost for Outstanding Teaching by a Graduate Teaching Assistant.

Dr. Zelenak is active in the music education community. He currently serves as president for the Higher Education Division of the Alabama Music Educators Association, on the advisory committee for the National Association for Music Education’s Music Educator’s Journal, and on the editorial board for the Florida Music Educators Association’s Research Perspectives in Music Education. His research interests include self-efficacy in music performance and the development of communities of practice. His work has been published in the Journal of Research in Music Education, Bulletin of the Council of Research in Music Education, Journal of Technology in Music Learning, and Research Perspectives in Music Education. He contributed a chapter titled Methodological Trends in Music Education Research to the book Music education: Navigating the future (ed. C. Randles) and co-authored an article with C. Victor Fung on research methods in the Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning. He has made presentations at the National Association for Music Education’s Music Research and Teacher Education National Conferences, Alabama Music Educators Association’ Annual Conference, Suncoast Music Education Research Symposium, and Florida Music Educators’ Association Conference.

Currently, Dr. Zelenak coordinates the music education program at Alabama State University and teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in music education. He serves on the ASU Institutional Review Board and Faculty Senate.