Dr. Johanna Gamboa-Kroesen began studying violin at the age of three at the Colburn School and has been teaching elementary, secondary, and collegiate string pedagogy since 2006. She holds a Doctorate in Education from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Masters of Music Education in String Pedagogy from The Hartt School of Music. At the Hartt School, Dr. Gamboa-Kroesen received an Educational Fellowship to serve as Assistant Director and Master Teacher of the Hartt String Project, an organization that brings string music education to at-risk youth throughout the greater Hartford region. Dr. Gamboa-Kroesen received a Bachelors of Music in Music Education and Violin Performance from Chapman University Conservatory of Music and was a recipient of the Morganthaler Scholarship, the Shanely Scholarship, the 2004 Orchestral Leadership Award, and the 2004 Music Educator Award. As concertmaster of the Chapman Symphony Orchestra, she soloed on Prokofiev’s “Violin Concerto No. 2”.
Dr. Gamboa-Kroesen’s research interests include inclusive teaching practices and school connectedness, the impact of music education on academic stress reduction, and mindfulness-based practice in music education. In 2019, she completed her doctoral dissertation titled, “These Are My People: Music Teacher Instructional Practice and School Connectedness”. Since 2012, she has been on faculty at the Chapman University Conservatory of Music, teaching music education courses to music education and conducting majors.
Since 2006, Dr. Gamboa-Kroesen has been a String Specialist in the Irvine Unified School District, teaching over 850 elementary students each year and is currently director of orchestras at Beacon Park Middle School, Eastshore Elementary School and Turtle Rock Elementary School. In 2011, Dr. Gamboa-Kroesen took a leave of absence from her tenure with Irvine USD to pursue a year teaching abroad in Beijing, China.
Dr. Gamboa-Kroesen studied violin with Sandy Rynerson (The Colburn School), Paul Manaster (Associate Concertmaster, Pacific Symphony), and Mischa Lefkovitz (Los Angeles Philharmonic). Additional violin studies include Glenn Dicterow (Former Concertmaster, New York Philharmonic), Alice Schoenfeld (The Colburn School), and, for chamber music, Robert Becker (Principal Violist, Pacific Symphony).
As a string clinician, she has adjudicated SCSBOA Solo and Ensemble Festivals, the IUSD High School Orchestra Festival, presented at SCSBOA workshops and conferences, coordinated collegiate workshops for ASTA conventions, and worked with orchestras in California and Arizona. She has been a guest conductor of the IUSD Summer Fine Arts Orchestra, IUSD Elementary Honor Chamber Strings and Honor Orchestra, and the Long Beach Middle School Honor Orchestra.
In 2015, Dr. Gamboa-Kroesen was named the “Orange County Outstanding Educator, Instrumental Music” by the Orange County Music & Arts Administrators. In 2016, she was awarded the “Excellence in Teaching Award” for Visual and Performing Arts by the Irvine Unified School District.
Dr. Gamboa-Kroesen is a credentialed teacher in the state of California, a member of various professional organizations including CTA, NEA, SCSBOA & ASTA, performs as a professional violinist, and teaches private violin.