Derryl grew up at a trading post at Toadlena, New Mexico, on the Navajo
Indian reservation. He attended a one-room schoolhouse, where one teacher
taught grades one through eight. Derryl's grandmother, Lucy G. Bloomfield,
was a talented writer, painter and musician, with several published compositions.
Derryl began his music education with piano and voice lessons from the
Urseline nuns at Waterflow, New Mexico. His mother drove the 60 miles
between the trading post and the Catholic school once a week for five
years before the family moved to Farmington, NM for Derryl's high school
education.
Derryl graduated from Farmington High School and attended Brigham Young
University, where he received both his BA and MA degrees in music education.
He is certified to teach music K-12, secondary French, and general elementary
classroom.
Derryl married Michèle Dunoyer of Grenoble, France. They have three children,
André, Ariane and Pierre, and 10 grandchildren.
During a long teaching career Derryl taught junior high school French,
elementary school general music, junior high choir, as well as third and
fourth grades. He also taught college French and a workshop in elementary
school music for the classroom teacher.
During his years in the classroom Derryl composed many songs for his
students, with special emphasis on holiday music. He is especially proud
of the songs written especially for his Navajo Indian classes at Nenahnezad
and at Atsá Biyáázh schools. His favorite compilation is called Christmas
in Navajoland, including the children's favorite, Santa Has a Pickup
Truck. He continues to compose and to arrange the songs he created
during a long career in classroom music.