Biography

At age 35, Derek is currently pursuing his PhD in Music Education at the University of Toronto and his Bachelor of Education at Lakehead University. Since completing a Bachelor of Contemporary Music Degree at Humber College and his Masters of Ethnomusicology at York University, Derek has emerged as one of Canada’s finest young musicians and music educators. At home in Ontario, Derek works extensively as a bandleader, arts administrator, 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, the trans-Mediterranean group, Tamar Ilana & Ventanas (4X Canadian Folk Music Award-nominated), and Noam Lemish (2024 JUNO award-nominated, Jazz Album of the Year – Solo). Derek has travelled the world studying, performing, and teaching – Cuba (Folkloric Batá studies), Korea (Daegu International Jazz Festival), Indonesia (Erau International Folk & Art Festival), Spain (Camino de Santiago/Studying Flamenco Cajón), Italy (Atina Jazz Festival), Switzerland (Drumming mentorship with Julio Davalos), and across North America (Betty Carter Jazz Ahead – Washington, DC; Skirball Cultural Centre – Los Angeles; Vancouver Folk Festival – BC; Artist Residency at Banff Centre for the Arts - AB, Home Routes Tour – MB/SK, Harbourfront Centre/Koerner Hall/Sony Centre/Stockey Centre – ON). 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 educational workshops for students of all ages. Derek is an Orff Specialist and Kodaly-certified music instructor who was on faculty as an Itinerant Music Instructor in the Toronto District School Board (including the ‘Virtual Schools’ program), Humber College Community Music School (early childhood music educator, ensemble director) and Springboard to Music (where Derek served as Artistic Director between 2019 and 2023). In various education capacities, he has worked with well over five thousand students across Canada, and abroad. Over the past few years, Derek has received several 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, Esmeralda Enrique, amongst many others. For more info, please visit: www.derekgray.ca.