Derek is a multi-instrumentalist performer, composer, conductor, and educator who has performed a wide range of music across North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
He has worked with the American Voices music education programs sponsored by the U.S. State Department in Lebanon, Sudan, Turkmenistan, and Iraq. He has been a Teaching Artist for Musicians without Borders in Palestine and the Global Music Institute in New Delhi, India. He received a Fulbright-Nehru scholarship to conduct education research in partnership with Music Basti in New Delhi, India, where he also studied tabla with Pandit Shailendra Mishra. He was Education and Community Engagement Manager for the Music Matters School in Sri Lanka, was an Artist-In-Residence with the Music Action Lab in San Francisco, and is an Advisor for Institutional Advancement at the Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory in Nepal. He is also the Director of Curriculum Development for Giant Steps Music in San Francisco, and was formerly a curriculum writer for Empowerment Through Integration in Lebanon. He managed the Education and Community Engagement programs for the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and is currently the orchestra's Development Officer.
He holds a degree in saxophone performance from the New England Conservatory.
He has worked with the American Voices music education programs sponsored by the U.S. State Department in Lebanon, Sudan, Turkmenistan, and Iraq. He has been a Teaching Artist for Musicians without Borders in Palestine and the Global Music Institute in New Delhi, India. He received a Fulbright-Nehru scholarship to conduct education research in partnership with Music Basti in New Delhi, India, where he also studied tabla with Pandit Shailendra Mishra. He was Education and Community Engagement Manager for the Music Matters School in Sri Lanka, was an Artist-In-Residence with the Music Action Lab in San Francisco, and is an Advisor for Institutional Advancement at the Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory in Nepal. He is also the Director of Curriculum Development for Giant Steps Music in San Francisco, and was formerly a curriculum writer for Empowerment Through Integration in Lebanon. He managed the Education and Community Engagement programs for the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and is currently the orchestra's Development Officer.
He holds a degree in saxophone performance from the New England Conservatory.