Artist. Scholar. Athlete.
🎵 Musician
Sofia Detjen is a 14× DownBeat Music Award-winning drummer, recording artist, sideperson, and session musician. A Utah native, Sofia has quickly established herself as one of the most diverse and in-demand Gen Z drummers in today’s music scene. She is known for her immense talent, fierce creativity, and the passion and joy she brings to every performance.
She leads ensembles of her own and has collaborated with world-renowned contemporary artists, including Trombone Shorty, Randy Brecker, Victor Wooten, Steve Smith, Wayne Bergeron, Dafnis Prieto, Jeff Coffin, Gordon Goodwin, David Paich, Francisco Torres, Tom “Bones” Malone, Ron Blake, and more.
In 2025, Sofia was accepted into the prestigious Berklee Global Jazz Institute (BGJI), led by GRAMMY® Award-winner Danilo Pérez. She is mentored by world-renowned jazz masters including Terri Lyne Carrington, John Patitucci, George Garzone, and Joe Lovano, with opportunities for advanced performance, collaboration, and international touring.
Sofia serves as the resident drummer and vice president (2026-27) for The Hasty Pudding Theatricals, the third-oldest theater company in the world. She has performed in over 80 shows across Cambridge, New York City, and Bermuda, including featured appearances with Jon Hamm and Academy Award-winner Cynthia Erivo. She returns to the stage for the company’s 177th production, Salooney Tunes.
During her six-year tenure with Caleb Chapman’s Soundhouse, Sofia amassed an impressive array of accolades—14 DownBeat Awards, 11 Best of State Awards, international tours, and extensive studio experience. As lead drummer of the Crescent Super Band (2020–2023), she performed at top festivals including Jazz à Vienne (France), North Sea Jazz Festival (Netherlands), and Umbria Jazz Festival (Italy). Her work on the band’s full-length album High Hopes showcased dynamic new arrangements of artists such as Post Malone, Billie Eilish, Panic! At The Disco, and Lizzo.
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Sofia leads successful ensembles of her own and has collaborated on stage with highly reputable contemporary musicians, including Troy Andrews (Trombone Shorty), Carl Allen, Wayne Bergeron, Ron Blake (Saturday Night Live Band, The Juilliard School), Randy Brecker, Jeff Coffin (Dave Matthews Band), Robbie Connolly (Fictionist, The Killers), Jerry Cortez (Tower of Power), Jody Espina, Gordon Goodwin (Big Phat Band), Karl Hunter (Big Bad Voodoo Daddy), Tom "Bones" Malone (The Blues Brothers, SNL Band CBS Orchestra), Bryan E. Miller, Scotty Morris (Big Bad Voodoo Daddy), David Paich (Toto), Dafnis Prieto, Poncho Sanchez, Steve Smith (Journey), Francisco Torres (Big Phat Band), Thurl Bailey, and Victor Wooten (Béla Fleck and the Flecktones), and more.
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2023- Present
Shirazette Tinnin
Berklee Music Faculty Mentor
GRAMMY®-Nominee, Associate ProfessorFrancisco Mela
Berklee Music Faculty Mentor
GRAMMY®-Nominee, Associate Professor2017-2023
Caleb Chapman
2x GRAMMY®–nominated educator, musician, author, and producerJeff Coffin
3x GRAMMY® Award-winner, saxophonist, composer, Vanderbilt University educator, and member of the legendary U.S. rock group Dave Matthews BandJay Lawrence
GRAMMY®–nominated recording artist, drummer, and percussionistFrancisco Torres
3x GRAMMY® Award-winner, 5x GRAMMY®-nominated trombonist, and musical director for Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band, member of Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band -
Jazz, Swing, Jazz Fusion, Rock, Pop, Funk, Country, Latin, Soul, Blues, Salsa, R&B
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Afro-Cuban Jazz (congas, bongo, and timbales), Orchestral, Percussion Ensemble, Chorale, Musical Theatre, Concert Band.
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Brian Blade, Terri Lyne Carrington, Roy Haynes, Jay Lawrence, Max Roach, Steve Smith, and Dave Weckl.
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Jekyll & Hyde, Little Shop of Horrors, Spring Awakening, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, First Year Musical: The Kids Are Alight, and The Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ productions HEIST, HEIST, BABY! (175th), 101 Damnations (176th), and Salooney Tunes (176th).
Drum set-up.
Drums & cymbals.
Zildjian K Family Cymbals
DW Collector's Series Maple Drums in Exotic Santos Rosewood with Nickel Plated Hardware
18x22 Bass Drum
6.5x14 Ludwig Black Beauty 110th Anniversary Snare
7x8, 8x10, 9x12 Toms
12x14, 14x16 Floor Toms
Hardware.
DW 9000 Single Pedal
DW 5520 Dual/Accessory Hi-Hat Stand
DW 9300 Snare Drum Stand
DW 9900 Double Tom Stand
DW 9700 Straight/Boom Cymbal Stand (x4)
DWSM934 Cymbal Arm (x2)
Officially endorsed by Salt City Drums, Sofia is proudly playing DW Drums, fitted with Remo Heads, damped with TruTone dampers, matched with Zildjian Cymbals, using Vic Firth Sticks. When she travels, she uses Ahead Armor Cases and Gruvgear bags.
🎓 Scholar
Sofia is a cross-registered student at Harvard University, Berklee College of Music, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She studies History, Government, and the great texts of philosophy, literature, and the arts through coursework at Harvard College and the Harvard Kennedy School, while pursuing advanced musical training through Berklee.
She is currently learning Arabic, expanding her linguistic and cultural fluency.
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Harvard Kenneth I. Juster Fellow (2025–2026)
Research Partner, Harvard Radcliffe Institute
Partnering with Bahman Khodadadi, PhD2026 Undergraduate Associate, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs
Winter 2026 Research Placements:
London School of Economics (LSE)
Bibliothèque nationale de France — the national library of France
The National Archives (United Kingdom)
French Diplomatic Archives
Hudson Institute Political Studies Fellow (2024), Washington, D.C.
Research Assistant to Dr. Liz Sherwood-Randall and Dr. Michael McQuade on IB3 — Bioconvergence, Biosecurity, and Bioresilience.
Her academic work explores global policy, diplomacy, and cultural exchange, with a developing focus on the role of music in shaping international dialogue.
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Sofia represented Harvard College in Shanghai and Beijing, participating in bilateral policy discussions on Data Regulation and Artificial Intelligence.
🌍 Off-Stage
Sofia is the daughter of James and Reina Detjen. Her brothers, Elliott (Harvard) and Danny (U.S. Air Force Academy), are among her closest influences and supporters.
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In 2024, Sofia successfully walked on to the Harvard-Radcliffe Women’s Heavyweight Rowing Team—the oldest women’s rowing program in the Ivy League and one of the top NCAA Division I teams in the nation. Today, she keeps a demanding training schedule built around distance running, rowing, high-intensity cardio, and strength conditioning—both in Cambridge and at her favorite OrangeTheory studios.
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Sofia is an active member of:
The Hasty Pudding Institute of 1770
The IC Final Club
Harvard Undergraduate Foreign Policy Initiative (HUFPI)
Former Deputy Director of Foreign Summits
Former Deputy Director of Speakers
With a blend of discipline, creativity, curiosity, and global perspective, Sofia continues to be a strong voice on campus—driven by her commitment to excellence in both music and scholarship.
