BIO
Since completing a Bachelor of Contemporary Music Degree at Humber College and a Masters of Ethnomusicology at York University, Derek has emerged as one of Canada’s finest young musicians. Derek is currently pursuing his PhD in Music Education at the University of Toronto and has taught as a sessional lecturer at University of Toronto Scarborough Campus and St. George Campus. At home in Toronto, Derek works extensively as a bandleader, composer, and performing musician (drumset, Batá, cajón, djembe, Tibetan Singing Bowls, amongst other sound makers) with a variety of projects. Derek tours internationally with Georgian Bay (2019 Trille Or Recipient: Best Artist - Roots), Gray Matter (2016 Julian Award runner-up contemporary-jazz quintet), Franco-Ontarian family band Ariko, Indo-jazz chamber ensemble Justin Gray & Synthesis, and the trans-Mediterranean group, Tamar Ilana & Ventanas (4X Canadian Folk Music Award-nominated).
Derek has travelled the world studying, performing, and teaching – Cuba (Folkloric Batá studies), Korea (Daegu International Jazz Festival), Spain (Camino de Santiago/Studying Flamenco Cajón), Indonesia (Erau International Folk & Art Festival), Italy (Atina Jazz Festival), Switzerland (Drumming mentorship with Julio Davalos), Banff (Artist Residency at the Banff Centre for Arts), New York City (Batá Studies with Roman Diaz), and Washington (Betty Carter Jazz Ahead).
In the summer of 2009, Derek travelled to Ghana to study traditional West African hand drumming with master drummers Kwasi Dunyo and Ledzi Agudzemegah in Dagbamete, a village in the Volta Region. Upon returning to Canada, Derek founded the Hand Drumming in the Schools program in which he travels to schools across Canada and facilitates hand-drumming workshops for students of all ages. Currently, Derek is an Orff Specialist and Kodaly-certified music instructor on faculty as an Itinerant Music Instructor in the Toronto District School Board (currently assigned to ‘Virtual Schools’ program), Humber College Community Music School, and Springboard to Music (where Derek has served as Artistic Director since 2019).
Over the past few years, Derek has received a number of awards, including Humber College's President's Medal for leadership, the Garfield Weston National Level Scholarship for leadership, the Glenn H. Carter Graduate Fellowship in Music, the Doug Riley Memorial Scholarship, the Mary Alice Stuart Music Scholarship, the SABIAN Cymbals Award + Scholarship, the George McCrae Award for musical excellence, and the Principal’s Award for Student Leadership. Derek has performed with: Dave Holland, Jayme Stone, Amos Hoffman, Ingrid & Christine Jensen, David Liebman, Tony Malaby, Pat Labarbera, Vincent Herring, Darya Dadvar, Esmeralda Enrique, amongst many others. For more info, please visit: www.derekgray.ca.