Derek Hamersly began his piano studies at age 8 in Santa Cruz, California. Graduating from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) with University Honors in 2019, he received both a B.F.A. in Piano Performance and a B.S. in Physics. His former instructors include Dr. Susan Bruckner, Dr. Hanna Wu Li, Dr. Dimitri Papadimitriou, and Dr. Christopher Taylor. 

At CMU, Derek was keyboardist in chamber groups, voice lessons, musical theater/opera productions, ballet classes, and the CMU wind ensemble. He was also pianist in the CMU Philharmonic’s performance of Stravinsky’s Petrushka. Derek was a finalist in the 2019 CMU Concerto Competition. 

In 2020, Derek began a PhD program in Physics at University of California Santa Cruz. Leaving with a M.S. in 2022, he chose instead to pursue collaborative piano as a primary career. Moving to Madison, WI, he served as a freelance accompanist working with UW Madison students, local churches, and a youth choir. Derek is currently pursuing the MM degree in Piano Accompanying and Chamber Music at the Eastman School of Music under the guidance of Dr. Andrew Harley.