USM School of Music Welcomes Three New Faculty Members

Fri, 04/28/2023 - 09:48am | By: Mike Lopinto

After an extensive, global search, The University of Southern Mississippi School of Music is pleased to welcome three new faculty members to join the esteemed program. Dr. Borislava Iltcheva, violin, Dr. Rob Detjen, horn, and Dr. Cody Edgerton, band will officially start for the 2023-24 academic year. 

“As the flagship musical program in the state, the School of Music is thrilled to have these incredible teaching and performing talents join our ranks,” said Dr. Colin McKenzie, director. “Our faculty are some of the best educators and artist in the world and our students are fortunate to grow their musical career under their care.”

Iltcheva held the position of visiting professor in violin at USM for the 2022-23 school year. She holds degrees from the Bulgarian National Academy of Music, Louisiana State University, and Indiana University. Her principal teachers include Alexander Iltchev, Evgenia Maria Popova, Kevork Mardirossian and Mauricio Fuks. She serves as the Around the World assistant for prof. Mauricio Fuks. 

“I am thrilled to be joining the USM faculty on permanent basis,” said Iltcheva. “I loved working closely with all undergraduate and graduate violin students as well as with my colleagues at the School of Music.”

Iltcheva frequently performs and teaches masterclasses around the world. In the U.S., she has performed several concerts at Carnegie Hall where she’ll be returning for an evening of chamber music in the fall of 2023. She is also the concertmaster of the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra. Her students have won major national and international competitions including First Prize at the Rudolpho Lipitzer International Violin Competition, among many others.

Having served as interim faculty this past year, Detjen joins the faculty as assistant professor of music. He grew up in Southeast Alaska and holds degrees from the Conservatory of Music and Dance at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Southern Methodist University, and the University of Oregon. He attended the Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) for multiple summers as a fellowship student. He currently serves as fourth horn of the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra and second horn of the Meridian Symphony Orchestra and Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestra. Detjen is an experienced arts administrator. He served as the Box Office Manager of the AMFS for over a decade and is currently the Whole Schools Administrative Contractor for the Mississippi Arts Commission. 

“My family and I are extremely grateful to The University of Southern Mississippi and the USM community for this wonderful opportunity,” said Detjen. “Working with the USM students and faculty during the past year has been an incredibly rewarding and humbling experience. The music environment at Southern Miss is undeniably special—welcoming and friendly, but also intense and thought provoking. That’s a tough combination for any school to achieve, and witnessing this balancing act has been remarkable.”

Edgerton joins the Southern Miss School of Music faculty as assistant director of bands. He studied wind conducting at Michigan State University and Western Michigan University. He also served two years as the assistant high school band director at Grandville High School in Grandville, Michigan, and two years as the middle and high school band director for Elk Rapids Schools in Elk Rapids, Michigan.

He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Wind Conducting from Michigan State University, a Master of Music in Wind Conducting from Western Michigan University, and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Michigan State University. Cody is originally from Charlotte, Michigan.

“I am delighted to join the faculty at Southern Miss,” said Edgerton. “I look forward to working with students, faculty, and staff to continue the tradition of excellence and achievement at the USM School of Music."

For more information on the School of Music, visit their website.