About

Gloria Stearns-Bruner is a violinist, composer, and clinical music therapist in Bloomington, IN. She works in private practice serving individuals of all ages with mental health needs and developmental disabilities. She also works as a creative musician improvising, collaborating, and composing responding to spiritual and social concerns. Gloria’s previous work experience includes facilitating music therapy groups for children, adolescents, and adults with acute mental health conditions at Bloomington Meadows Hospital, a psychiatric inpatient facility; serving Alzheimer’s patients at Bell Trace Health Center; facilitating groups for teens experiencing homelessness at the Youth Services Bureau;  and serving elementary and middle school children with special needs at The Project School.

Gloria grew up in a renovated 1853 church in the woods of Connecticut with a musical family and began studying violin at age 7. After college she moved to Washington, DC in 1983 to volunteer with Sojourners, a social activist Christian community and magazine. She met her husband of 33 years and joined him living and working in L’Arche, an intentional spiritual community for individuals with disabilities. Soon she was introduced to and deeply inspired by Quakers, became a member of Langley Hill Meeting, VA, and was married to Kevin Bruner under their care in 1988.

Gloria continued to work as a professional musician in area orchestras as well as  performing traditional folk music with her husband, a singer and guitarist, in festivals, weddings, and a life changing 81-day streetplaying tour of the USA.

 In 1995 she and her husband moved to rural Pennsylvania to begin their family in a quieter setting (and learn about gardening and cloth diapers). They moved again to Bloomington, IN in 2003 to be near Kevin’s family when their four children were school aged. Bloomington Friends Meeting became Gloria’s new spiritual community offering support and care to her and the family. She worked as a teacher’s aide for special needs children, taught violin privately, performed concerts in assisted living facilities, and led creative music workshops.

In 2009 Gloria had a powerful experience while improvising on her violin. This led her to return to school to study music therapy passionate about the healing potential of music. She became board certified in 2011 and earned her Master’s in music therapy in 2016 at St. Mary of the Woods College.

 In 2019 she produced an album “Calling To Me”, a collection of music meditations inspired by bird songs that helped heal her own trauma and mental health challenges. This led to sharing original music in public places as a peace witness during the Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020 which continued through Spring 2021. Gloria and Dena El Saffar founded Violins Over Violence, a music activist duo, and received a grant from the City of Bloomington supporting weekly outdoor music programs.

From 2020-2022 Gloria created over 250 short improvised multi-part pieces and numerous music videos expressing her spiritual journey, connection with nature, and social concerns. In addition she participated in Play for the Vote (Nov. 2020), Bloomington InterFaith MLK Service and Thanksgiving services in 2021 and 2022 offering original improvised music. 

In July 2021 Gloria began co-facilitating virtual workshops on “Mediating Trauma through Creative Expression” with Dr. Jennifer Elam, psychologist of 40 years and published Quaker writer, dancer, and artist.

Bloomington Friends Meeting actively supports Gloria’s ministry in music and activism through ongoing loving guidance and counsel. She continues to create music as a sacred practice and seeks opportunities to engage with and offer music to her community.