In 1975 she graduated with honours from the Faculty of History, Theory, and Composition of the Gnesin State Music and Pedagogical Institute (now the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music), and in 1979 she completed postgraduate studies there (class of Associate Professor A. A. Stepanov).
E. S. Derunets’s scholarly interests centre on the Russian tradition of harmony teaching and on issues of music‑theoretical terminology. Her dissertation topic was «The Russian Doctrine of Harmony from the Second Half of the Nineteenth to the Early Twentieth Century: Basic Concepts and Terms» (scholarly supervisor: T. I. Naumenko).
E. S. Derunets began teaching at the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music in 1980 in the Department of Music Theory. In parallel, from 1996 to 2013 she worked as Associate Professor and then Professor at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Moscow.
She is the author of recent‑generation university syllabi, as well as over twenty scholarly and methodological publications. She organises and participates in scholarly conferences held regularly at the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music, including «Music Education in the Cultural Context» and «Gnesin Pedagogical Schools: History and Modernity».
She is compiler and executive editor of collections of scholarly articles, including:
- Iz istorii otechestvennoy muzykal’noy kultury: neizvestnyye stranitsy («From the History of Russian Musical Culture: Unknown Pages»), Moscow, 2011.
- Teoriya muzyki: aktual’nyye voprosy metodiki prepodavaniya («Music Theory: Topical Issues in Teaching Methodology»), Moscow, 2015.
- Muzykal’noye obrazovaniye v kontekste kultury: voprosy teorii, istorii, metodologii i metodiki. Materialy nauchno‑prakticheskoy konferentsii («Music Education in the Cultural Context: Questions of Theory, History, Methodology, and Methods»), Moscow, 2017.
An important and sought‑after part of E. S. Derunets’s work is sharing teaching experience with colleagues at other higher‑education institutions and specialised secondary schools. She has repeatedly provided methodological support, open lessons, and masterclasses at institutions in Moscow, the Moscow Region, and other cities (Belgorod, Yaroslavl); as Chair of State Examination Boards she has worked at music colleges in the Moscow Region, Novomoskovsk, and Tula. She has served as expert for teaching‑excellence competitions at music colleges in Yaroslavl (2011) and Moscow (2012).
E. S. Derunets organises and participates in theoretical Olympiads for students of specialised secondary music schools (Gnesin Russian Academy of Music, 2010, 2012).
She has been invited as jury member and masterclass leader at international children’s music festivals and competitions, including «Legends of Verona» (Italy, 2012) and «Sounds and Colours of the Capital» (Moscow, 2013).
Her professional reputation is reflected in her appointment as music director of the international project «Peacechild», held in Lucerne (Switzerland) in November 2012.
In 2013 she received an Honorary Diploma from the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation «For a Major Contribution to the Development of Culture and Many Years of Fruitful Work».
Publications:
- «Russian Textbooks and Theoretical Literature on Harmony: Methodological Aspects of Studying Terminology», in Sovershenstvovaniye muzykal’no‑teoreticheskogo obrazovaniya v vysshey shkole («Improving Music‑Theoretical Education in Higher Education»), collected papers, issue 137, Gnesin Russian Academy of Music, Moscow, 1997, pp. 67–79.
- «Specific Features of Musical Terminology», in Muzykal’no‑teoreticheskoye obrazovaniye na rubezhe XX–XXI vv. («Music‑Theoretical Education at the Turn of the Twentieth and Twenty‑First Centuries»), proceedings of the scholarly‑practical conference (18–19 May 1999), Moscow State University of Culture and Arts, Moscow, 1999, pp. 61–71.
- «Basic Terms of the Doctrine of Harmony in Russian Music Dictionaries of the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries», in Muzykal’noye obrazovaniye v kontekste kultury: voprosy teorii, istorii i metodologii («Music Education in the Cultural Context: Questions of Theory, History, and Methodology»), proceedings of the international conference (26–29 October 2004), Gnesin Russian Academy of Music, Moscow, 2004, pp. 238–248.
- «From the Experience of Working with Wind‑Instrument Students», in Kak prepodavat’ solfedzhio v XXI veke («How to Teach Solfeggio in the Twenty‑First Century»), collected articles, Moscow, 2006, pp. 41–51.
- «The Doctrine of Harmony in Russian Textbooks and Theoretical Literature of the Second Half of the Nineteenth to the Early Twentieth Century (Chronology, Genres, Terminology)», in Iz istorii otechestvennoy muzykal’noy kultury: neizvestnyye stranitsy («From the History of Russian Musical Culture: Unknown Pages»), collected articles, Gnesin Russian Academy of Music, Moscow, 2011, pp. 76–94.
- «Harmony and the Major Subject: From the Experience of Creating an Analytical Course», in Teoriya muzyki: aktual’nyye voprosy metodiki prepodavaniya («Music Theory: Topical Issues in Teaching Methodology»), collected articles, Moscow, Gnesin Russian Academy of Music, 2015, pp. 33–43.
- «The Harmony Course and the Major Subject: Some Pedagogical Issues», in Muzykal’noye obrazovaniye v kontekste kultury: voprosy teorii, istorii, metodologii i metodiki («Music Education in the Cultural Context: Questions of Theory, History, Methodology, and Methods»), proceedings of the Twelfth inter‑university scholarly‑practical conference (1–3 November 2016), Gnesin Russian Academy of Music, 2017, pp. 218–223.
Teaching and methodological work:
- Programmes for courses in Harmony and Solfeggio for various performance specialisations.
- Lesson‑plan programmes.
- Assessment tasks and methodological guidelines for full‑time and part‑time students of different faculties.
She also teaches in the Centre for Retraining and Professional Development.
