Here Derek talks about a local symphony concert he recently attended in Dubuque, Iowa.
Read More →Here Derek talks about taking his entrance exams for doctoral studies and his excitement about being back in school.
Read More →Here Derek talks about his progress on his new wind ensemble piece, “We Seven”.
Read More →Here Derek talks about the choir piece he is currently working on.
Read More →Sometimes life happens and compositional plans get changed. Here Derek gives a quick update on his composition work this past year and what he’s currently working on.
Read More →Big updates for next year! Derek discusses his plans for the next school year.
Read More →Here Derek talks about being able to compose regularly again and the joy of being able to do so.
Read More →Here Derek talks about the issues he has been encountering with the beginning of his wind ensemble piece, a reoccurring problem of his.
Read More →Here Derek talks about recent developments in his doctoral and Fulbright applications.
Read More →Here Derek discusses how his precompositional ideas are developing for his new piece, “We Seven” for wind ensemble.
Read More →Here Derek talks about his struggles with looking at music purely from an academic viewpoint.
Read More →I was recently in Lawrence KS for a residency and concert at KU. This vlog details the residency activities and talks about a piece I taught the percussion students there to play with us on the show .
Read More →Here Derek discusses some of the positives and negatives of composition competitions.
Read More →Here I try to answer the two most common questions I get as a composer: 1) Where do you find your inspiration? and 2) What is your process?
Read More →How Theo Bleckmann and Ben Monder came to play at Bernunzio’s Music.
Read More →Here is a behind the scenes teaser of our upcoming music video. Special thanks to everyone involved! Deboka Films Director: Eduardo Cintron Producer: Eduardo Ortiz-Romeu, Barmey Ung Director of Photography: Jay Patton Assistant DP/ Cam 2: Joseph Delhommer Assistant Director: Miguel Otero Art Director: Nick Rastenis Stylist: Nicole Paprosky Make-up: Melissa Mazenett Production Assistant: Matt
Read More →Here is a sample of a piece I wrote for Gaudete Brass Quintet for Kmang Kmang’s CD Release Show March 31st, 2012. We had a blast, but unfortunately, we didn’t have time to do revisions with the piece. It was very difficult to say the least!
Read More →Matt Evans, Carson Moody, and I discuss our experiences with the Bill Evans Dance Co. and what it is like working with dancers.
Read More →A talk with some of the Ossia Board members about the upcoming concert that night.
Read More →Here is a little bit of a new piece that I’m writing for Brass Quintet. It will be premiered on March 31st by Gaudete Brass Quintet at Kmang Kmang’s CD release party in Chicago at the Painted Door - 1505 W Chicago Ave. It’s gonna be EPIC!! The video cuts out at the end, but
Read More →This is a piece that I wrote for Katrina Mena and Keith Rick. Katrina is the singer of my old band Beijinhos (“Little Kisses” in Portuguese), and they recently married. I wrote this song for them and played it at their wedding, but I think it could be developed more, perhaps with the band. Enjoy!
Read More →A brief interview with friend Ted Taforo, an expert on creativity.
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