Derek Shapiro is director of bands and associate professor of music at Virginia Tech where he conducts the Virginia Tech Wind Ensemble and teaches conducting. Prior to his appointment at Virginia Tech, he has held positions at Eastern Michigan University, Georgia Southern University, and Cypress Creek High School in Orlando, FL. A strong advocate for music education with nine years of public school experience, Shapiro has taught at the middle school and high school levels.

He is the co-lead editor of the award-winning Original Études for the Developing Conductor, a peer-reviewed Creative Commons-licensed collection of supplemental études designed to enhance contemporary conducting educational resources by amplifying the voices of composers from historically excluded groups. He has been published in the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band series and has presented at clinics across the United States.

Shapiro received a Doctor of Musical Arts in conducting from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music, a Master of Music in conducting from The University of Michigan, and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Keene State College. He is a member of the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA), the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), and the Virginia Music Educators Association.