Derrick Fox | Conductor | MusicSpoke
Dr. Derrick Fox is the Director of Choral Activities at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. He earned a BME from Arkansas State University, a MM in Choral Conducting from the University of Missouri - Columbia and a DMA in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University, where he was awarded the prestigious University Enrichment Graduate Fellowship. Dr. Fox has taught at the middle school, high school and collegiate levels. His conducting experiences have included singers from upper elementary choirs through collegiate and community choirs.
Dr. Fox has conducted all state choirs, led international, national and regional choral concerts/residencies and presented professional development workshops across the United States and internationally. His professional workshops focus on assessment in the choral classroom, building classroom community, rehearsal strategies, choral conducting techniques and shape note singing in the African American community. Dr. Fox has held teaching residencies at the Latvian Academy of Music and Syracuse University, led performance tours through Spain, Lithuania and Estonia. He conducted the 2019 National ACDA Middle School/Junior High Mixed Honor Choir and traveled to South Africa in 2019 ACDA International Conductor Exchange Fellow where he led choral workshops and rehearsals in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Potchefstroom.
As a baritone soloist, Dr. Fox has collaborated with various organizations; among them are the Arkansas Symphony, Lansing Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Columbia Chorale, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha Symphonic Chorus, University of Missouri, Michigan State University, Webster University and the Espaço Cultural (Brasilia, Brazil). He can be heard singing selections from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess on the compact disc In This Hid Clearing, available on the Naxos Classical Music label.
Dr. Fox serves on the National ACDA Diversity Subcommittee, the Missouri Music Educators Association Diversity Council, the Nebraska Music Educators Association Board and is the Collegiate Coordinator for Student Activities for Nebraska Choral Directors Association. As an author, he has written articles for many organizations and was a contributing author in the Hal Leonard/McGraw Hill choral textbook Voices in Concert. His compositions and arrangements are available through a variety of publishers. Dr. Fox's book, Yes You Can: A Band Director's Guide to Teaching Choirs is published by Carl Fischer.
The Derrick Fox Choral Series on MusicSpoke is rooted in the belief that representation matters. This series is intended to be a resource for those looking to create diverse musical programs that include music by and about people from marginalized and/or minoritized populations. I hope the singers in your choir will see themselves reflected and respected in the music included in this series or learn about the lived experiences of people outside of their own community.
