MEET THE DIRECTOR!

The Waterford Union High School Choirs are under the direction of Derek Machan.  The 2025-26 school year will mark Machan's 25th year at WUHS. In addition to the curricular choirs, he also directs the Madrigal Singers and is co-director for WUHS's annual musical.

Machan received his Bachelor's degree in Music Education from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire and earned his Master's Degree in Music Education from VanderCook College of Music.

Under Machan's direction, the choirs have  have performed at the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association Convention, the Dorian Choral Festival, and as the featured choir at the Clearwater Choral Festival. They have participated in Carthage College and Marquette University choir festivals, and have been invited to participate in collaborative concerts with community choirs and universities in South-Eastern Wisconsin. The choirs have traveled to perform in Disney World, New York, Hawaii and Washington D.C. with the WUHS Bands.

Machan is an in-demand accompanist and adjudicator in Wisconsin and the Midwest, and has compositions published with Alliance Music Publications, Inc, Fred Bock, and Alfred Music Publications. As a jazz keyboardist, Machan's first professional jazz gig was with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.

Machan is a member of NAfME, the International Association of Jazz Educators, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and is a lifetime member of ACDA. He has been awarded the Kohl Teaching Fellowship (2012), and is a five-time recipient of the WAMI Music Teacher of the Year. Mr. Machan currently lives in Waterford with his family.