Megan Gilles began
her formal music training in Fulda, Minnesota at the age of 8 studying
piano and later organ primarily with teachers Mary Hogan and Lois Gruis.
She earned her Bachelor of Music from the College of St. Benedict/St. John's University in 2002. Megan earned her Masters of Arts degree in Liturgical Studies from St. John's University, Collegeville, MN in May of 2008. Megan served as treasurer of the West Central Music Teachers Club (National Federation of Music Clubs) from 2008-2019.
Megan is currently a member of the Great River Music Club (National Federation of Music Clubs).
She is a member of the Minnesota Music Teachers Association (MMTA). Megan served as President of the Willmar Music Teachers Association, the local organization of MMTA from 2011-2018. Megan serves as Vice President of the Willmar Music Teachers Association (2018-Present).
Megan served MMTA as the Independent Music Teachers Forum Chair from 2013-2015 and with this position wrote articles for the statewide newsletter bimonthly and led two Independent Music Teachers Forums at the state convention for Minnesota.
At the June 2016 MMTA State Convention, Megan was a panelist for a panel discussion on Parent Relationships. At the 2018 MMTA Convention Megan will be a panelist for a panel discussion on Completing the Triangle: Developing Positive Parent Relationships.
2016-2020 Megan will be serving as the MMTA Vice President of Membership. In this role Megan presented at the 2017 Convention a presentation entitled MMTA 101 for new(er) MMTA Members. At the 2018 and 2019 MMTA Conventions, Megan presented two sessions for MMTA new(er) members-MMTA 101-Student Programming and MMTA 201-Benefits of MMTA Membership.
Megan began serving as the MMTA Site Administrator for the South Central Testing Site located in Willmar in 2015. In the Fall of 2015, Megan became the MMTA Ensemble Festival site administrator. She serves as the Greater Minnesota MMTA Piano Exam Repertoire Analyst (2017-Present)
Megan has been an Independent Music Teacher since high school. She enjoys doing freelance playing for various churches in the area.
Megan is married to Doug Gilles and they are the proud parents of Arianna and Zoe.
"Many have been the times when I sat down at the piano and played away my blues. When my heart was aching and all I could do was cry, playing the piano always brought a certain amount of comfort and stability to my world. Music is a gift that lasts a lifetime. While not everyone possesses the natural talent for playing well, the way I see it, a little music is better than no music at all."
-Dayle Shockley as written in the Dallas Morning News