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Biography

is adjunct faculty in the Music Department, specializing in contemporary music and jazz.  He has taught private voice lessons, directed ensembles, taught Foundations 1 & 2, and served as an adjudicator and organizer of the Deep Dish Music Festival, which he co-founded with colleague Scott Hall. 

Derek has shared stages with Peter Frampton, Ben Folds, America, Lifehouse, Pat Benatar, Colin Hay, Gin Blossoms, Blues Traveler, and backed up Chance The Rapper at Lollapalooza.  The Chicago Tribune calls Derek’s music   and recent co-writing collaborations have netted more than a million streams.  Of his performance in Trey Anastasio’s Hands On A Hardbody, Chris Jones wrote:     

Derek has been recognized for Excellence in Teaching, currently serves as singing and songwriting faculty at both NYU and Berklee, and hosts T:  A series of interviews with activists and experts about the rights of music creators.  He is a member of both the Jazz Education Network (JEN) and The Association for Popular Music Education (APME) and has presented at both organizations’ annual conferences.  Derek holds both a Bachelor’s of Music in Jazz Studies from Western Michigan University and a Master’s of Songwriting from NYU.

Degrees

B.M., Music Jazz Studies Western Michigan University 2000