Derek Barnes is a professional musician and vocal specialist who divides his time between musical direction, composing and arranging, and empowering others through his work as an educationalist, vocal teacher and voice coach, training young performers and seasoned professionals at the highest levels. He organises and directs demonstrations and lectures in sound and consciousness, the therapeutic use of voice, and voice in communication – the SoundPower Workshops - which he has given in the UK, France, Germany, Scandinavia, Lithuania and the USA.

Derek’s former posts include Professor of Music Theatre Performance and Head of Vocal Studies at the Music Theatre Department of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, Senior Lecturer at the University of Chichester, Visiting Lecturer and Guest Musical Director at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Guest Musical Director at the Performance Preparation Academy in Guildford, Visiting Lecturer and Vocal Supervisor for the International Music Theatre Education (IMTE) at Turku University of Applied Sciences Arts Academy in Finland. He has led workshops in music theatre and voice at San Diego State University, at the Joop van den Ende Academy in Hamburg, and at the Faculty of Arts and Creative Technologies (Vilniaus Kolegija), University of Applied Sciences, Vilnius in Lithuania. He has given Masterclasses for the Swedish professional performers' organisation SAMI, at Gothenburg Opera, and in Lithuania for the State Music Theatres in Klaipeda and Kaunas.

He has musically directed at the National Theatre (Coram Boy, Royal Hunt of the Sun, Oedipus) and in London’s West End, with productions and engagements in opera houses and concert halls in 15 countries world-wide. He has worked with theatre directors Sir Trevor Nunn, Simon Callow, Melly Still, Vernon Mound, Jonathan Kent, Nancy Meckler, Bijan Sherbani, James McDonald, Pip Broughton, Ronny Danielsson, Georg Malvius and Irina Brown. As a composer, Derek’s music theatre version of Sir Arnold Wesker’s “The Kitchen” (premièred in Tokyo), was hailed by the critics as a “Masterpiece Musical”, and he has contributed numerous scores and arrangements for plays, concerts and recordings.

Derek has developed a system of free-form vocal and instrumental improvisation which he uses with his ensemble Coryphaeus, combining written poetry with improvised music.

Derek is a Healer Member of the NFSH (The Healing Trust)

Watch a recent video interview regarding SoundPower with Renée van der Vloodt here