Derek Koning

Battery Caption Head

Derek Koning, an incoming Bentonville West math teacher, is thrilled to also be joining the Bentonville West marching band staff.

As a young drummer in the California Bay Area, Derek’s vision for reaching the pinnacle of marching percussion was with the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum & Bugle Corps. After marching with the SCV Cadet Corps in 2002 and 2003, Derek achieved his dream by becoming bass drum #2 with the Vanguard A-Corps in 2004. That magical season culminated with the DCI Fred Sanford High Percussion Award, the DCI I&E Bass Drum Ensemble championship, and the SCV Rookie of the Year Award. Derek also marched the 2005 season with the Vanguard before turning his drumming focus to college marching band. He played snare drum and tenors with the UCLA Bruin Marching Band before transferring to Michigan State University and resettling into his favorite role as bass #2 with the Spartan Marching Band.

Derek’s years of giving private drum lessons and instructing his former high school’s drumline later sparked him to leave his engineering career for teaching. Back at MSU for his math degree, Derek served as an assistant drumline instructor with the Spartan Marching Band and drumline instructor/composer with Okemos High School. Derek then made the journey back to California to complete his master’s degree at Stanford University and became a math/engineering teacher at Fremont High School in Sunnyvale. After meeting his wife and moving to Livermore, Derek’s nearly two-hour commute made working with Fremont’s drumline impossible. Five years later, with two young children, that commute played a large role in leading Derek and his family to relocate to Northwest Arkansas. Now, the 90-second commute from just down the street has opened the exciting opportunity for Derek to come back to his love for both drumming and teaching with Bentonville West.