A master’s degree recipient from the Eastman School of Music, Derrick was a longtime faculty member of the Eastman Community Music School and of Nazareth College. He led the vocal curriculum of Eastman’s Music Horizons summer program for gifted teenage musicians. A frequent oratorio, opera, and concert soloist, Derrick performed throughout America and internationally, including at Carnegie Hall and at the Institute of Vocal Arts in Italy. His most acclaimed roles were that of Porgy, Jake, and Crown in “Porgy and Bess” and Joe in “Show Boat.” He also performed in the principal role of the premiere production of “Harriet Tubman” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Local audiences were treated to his many performances of Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, and Brahms’s German Requiem. He performed with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the Rochester Oratorio Society, the Long Island Symphony, the Chamber Group of the Toronto Symphony, the Chautauqua Symphony, and the New England Symphonic Ensemble, among others. Derrick’s distinguished baritone voice was captured on several broadcasts and recordings.