Offerings

Bringing Gloria’s Music into workshops, retreats and gatherings

Workshops

“Mediating Trauma through Creative Expression”

Gloria Stearns-Bruner and Dr. Jennifer Elam, Quaker, psychologist, writer, dancer, and artist lead this virtual 90-minute workshop for various groups to address trauma in an innovative and effective manner. Through writing, interpretive movement, and music participants work as a community to help their trauma stories get “unstuck” and “learn to move again.”

Mediating Trauma through Creative Expression (MTCE) workshops are available for booking in your workplace, faith community, with professional peers, or friends.

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Praise from Workshop Participants

  • “[This workshop] showed me that the feelings that I have to my own trauma are validated and that I can have a safe space to share and disclose the information with freedom and authentic vulnerability!”

  • “From the moment I entered the 'room' I felt it was sacred space and I think the beautiful music really helped to establish that sense.”

  • “…loved the flow of the workshop--the way you organized it and how it unfolded/unfurled, and the tone… it's a difficult subject but you kept a hopeful, Spirit-filled tone.”

  • “loved the movement--and was happy to find that after the workshop, I didn't feel tension in my body…”

Retreats & Conferences

Gloria works with faith communities and other groups who wish to integrate creative expression into their retreats or conferences. Both in-person and virtual live music are available. Gloria consults with and custom designs a variety of expressive elements such as music, movement with scarves, poetry, and drawing and connects it with a theme. Whether it be a 5 minute opening of centering music, a closing celebration with free form movement, or a 20 minute mini-workshop, your community will enjoy deep connections together.

  • “Your gentle and sincere approach added to the safe and loving atmosphere that all were a part of.”

    — Karen Pollock, Planning Team, Bahai conference

Public Gatherings

Welcome music as a peaceful witness in the community.

Gloria’s music speaks out as a voice in our community, for peace, solidarity, change, and challenge from interfaith religious services celebrating diversity to peaceful rallies standing up to racial violence. Creative music making in the moment is an honest and raw response to an often broken and hurting world. In the words of Leonard Bernstein, “This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.”  

“New Beginnings” Apr.2021

Cicada’s Serenade, bringing beauty and harmony to community

  • “Gloria’s music is soothing, inspiring and uplifting. Her fine artistry and exquisite melodic improvisations amplify compassion and open-heartedness, awakening a deeper kind of listening.”

    — Dena El Saffar, founder/director salaamband.com

Past Events

Sept. 18, 2022
Community Friends Meeting

October 6, 2022
Role of Music in Stress Management: IU, Stephanie Turpin, LMHC

Painting credit "Transforming Trauma Using Creative Expression" Dr. Jennifer Elam. Photos by Michael Bruner.