Ep. 75: Kristen Bromley

Artifice

Dr. Kristen R. Bromley is a gifted and sought-after instructor, as well as a loved performer and composer. In addition to teaching guitar and jazz studies courses, and ensembles, at Brigham Young University, and directing the BYU Jazz Legacy Band, Dr. Bromley works as a professional arranging/composing, performing, and recording musician; and she is the owner and primary featured artist of Kristen R. Bromley Music, LLC. Kristen has a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Music Education from Boston University, a Master of Music degree in Jazz Studies from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, and a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies, with an additional BA major in Family History and Genealogy, from Brigham Young University. In January 2016, Dr. Bromley suffered a severe break to her left-arm humerus bone, which likewise involved the crushing of her left-arm radial nerve. The nerve was damaged to the point that she completely lost the use of many of the muscles in her left arm and hand. Despite a very grim prognosis, which suggested that in a best-case-scenario she would regain a very small percentage of the function of her left-arm and hand, Dr. Bromley experienced a miraculous recovery and works as a musician and guitarist today. In November of 2018, she recorded a debut album called Simply Miraculous, in celebration of her return to professional guitar playing. Dr. Bromley is the author of several guitar method books; and is featured on various recordings. She has toured as a musician across parts of North America and Europe; and she has performed at several highly prestigious jazz festivals such as the Edinburgh International Jazz Festival in Scotland, the Birmingham International Jazz Festival in England, the Marlborough International Jazz Festival in England, the Loulé Jazz Festival in Portugal, the San Sebastian International Jazz Festival in Spain, and the Ezcaray Jazz Festival in Spain. Dr. Bromley has also performed and helped present clinics at a handful of International Association for Jazz Education conferences; and she was named the outstanding guitar soloist at the Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival in 2006 and 2007. As a scholar, Dr. Bromley has focused much of her research on discovering ways to create more interactive and person-centered educational environments wherein individuals experience whole-person learning outcomes as they grow through cognitive, emotional, and experiential means, develop greater self-discipline, and become more fully-functioning persons. (For more information see Person-Centered Learning in a Collegiate Jazz Combo by Kristen R. Bromley). Kristen loves life, is deeply religious, and truly believes in the awesome power music has to uplift and edify the soul. She has devoted her career to enriching, uplifting, edifying, and inspiring lives through the education, performance, scholarship, composition, recording, and publishing of music.