After graduating from Morgan in 2021, Ryan Hromadka took a leap and moved 9 hours away to attend Pittsburgh’s Chatham University. Initially, he went for a baseball offer, but as time went on, his focus shifted away from baseball to music which would eventually lead to him forming Bloomfield Band with three of his friends.
Ryan has always been interested in music, playing both guitar and drums from a young age. He found that many of his hometown friends, although they got along wonderfully, didn’t have the same interests. Through playing baseball his first two years at Chatham, he was able to find common ground with people his age.
Eventually, Ryan and two of his teammates started living together. Ryan and one of his teammates left the team and began to bond over music. Their other teammate joined in and soon enough, they learned that their neighbor played bass guitar. They started “jammin’ together” and eventually a few quick practices a week and a house show led to recording songs and playing at other venues. Bloomfield Band was formed.
Bloomfield’s style of music is unique because they are all trained in different genres of music. Ryan, their drummer, is a funk drummer. Quinn Burke, their guitarist and lead vocalist, was trained in a blues style. Mason Schwartz, their pianist and saxophone player was trained classically. To complete the band, Wes Conklin, their bassist, was trained in a rock style. This results in a one-of-a-kind sound. Ryan added that they are all very versatile musicians, but if their style had to be categorized, it would best fit under funk rock or sometimes alt-rock.
Ryan himself isn’t completely sure what the future will bring for Bloomfield. They are releasing their first single this Friday, titled “Make You Mine”. Ryan does plan to attend grad school and isn’t sure if that will take him to a new city or if he will stay in Pittsburgh. He is a double major in psychology and criminology, with a minor in music. He will also be graduating with a certificate in forensic social work. He plans to graduate early this upcoming fall and pursue a PhD in psychology.
Ryan plans to combine his love of psychology with his love of music. He wants to research the effects of music on alzhiemers and dementia patients while in grad school. When speaking about this, his excitement was clear. “I love psychology, and I like research,” he said. He wants to pursue a career in music therapy. For him, a guitar and talking about feelings seems like the perfect career choice.
As for leaving small-town Clinton to move to Pittsburgh, Ryan said the adjustment was “weird” initially. Eventually, though, he found that the abundance of opportunity was valuable. Laughing, he gave the example that in Clinton It’s hard to find food, but in Pittsburgh, you can get food at midnight. “It’s awesome!”
He had advice for the soon-departing class of 2024. He said to “get out of your comfort zone, break routines, embrace new cultures, and embrace new opportunities.” Ryan continued, “I came to Chatham for baseball, and I’m leaving Chatham for music.” He made the point that trying new things may help students to discover that they enjoy something they were never exposed to before.
Aurora • Mar 7, 2024 at 6:48 pm
This is awesome! So proud Anika. Ryan, you’re going places, congrats on the new single!
Declan Hayes • Mar 7, 2024 at 6:13 pm
Wonderfully written article!!