Derek was born and raised in a Christian home. He always had a love of Jesus and a passion for music. In 2005, he entered into full Communion with the Catholic Church on Divine Mercy Sunday. It happened to be the day after Saint John Paul II passed away. Around the same time, Derek decided to study for a Master’s Degree in Film and Music Composition at New York University. He received his Master’s Degree in 2006. He was then hired as a music teacher at Cliffside Park High School in NJ. The following year, he was hired as a Music Director at Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Rockaway, N.J. In 2010, he was asked to compose an original composition based on the Diary of St. Faustina and to perform it at the NJ Center of Divine Mercy in Newark, NJ. It is there he fell deeply in love with the Divine Mercy Devotion (which comes as no surprise because he received the Eucharist for the first time, and Confirmation on Divine Mercy Sunday in 2005)! In the summer of 2013, Derek composed various musical arrangements with the lyrics comprising of various Catholic saint quotes or words from the Diary of St.Faustina. This was put into a Holy Hour program that was titled, “A Divine Mercy Encounter.” It is an hour with Adoration, Confession, Scripture Meditation, Orignial Music and the Divine Mercy Chaplet in Song. He has led this Holy Hour at various Churches in NJ as well as North Carolina. Derek now works at St.Ann Parish in Parisppany, NJ and is one of the leaders of a local Fathers of St.Joseph Chapter.

Derek looks to Saint John Bosco in his work teaching public high school students. His motto, “Education is a matter of the Heart” is one that my husband has adopted in his classroom as he tries to have a family atmosphere in his classroom. Of all the missions and ministries God has given to him, he knows that being a husband and father is his most important vocation.

To listen to the Divine Mercy Encounter program and download it for free, go to: https://adivinemercyencounter.bandcamp.com/