Rate My Professor Diana Tolmie

Dr Diana Tolmie serves as Senior Lecturer in Professional Practice at the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University. She holds a PhD from Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University (2017), titled 'My Life as a Musician: Designing a Vocation Preparation Strand to Create Industry-prepared Musicians,' an MBA in Arts Administration from Queensland University of Technology (2004), a Graduate Diploma in Performance from Queensland Conservatorium of Music (1994), and a Bachelor of Music from Queensland Conservatorium of Music. As a portfolio career musician and woodwind specialist, Tolmie has performed extensively across diverse genres in interstate and international tours. Her academic career focuses on preparing undergraduate musicians for industry careers through innovative curriculum design, such as the 'My Life as a Musician' suite of units, which aligns student attitudes, assessment, and vocational preparation to foster industry-ready graduates.

Tolmie's research specializations include musicians' livelihoods, vocational preparation, transferable music skills for non-music employment, and the concept of 'calling' among student musicians. Key publications encompass '2050 And beyond: A futurist perspective on musicians’ livelihoods' (2020, Music Education Research), 'Quantifying first-year student musicians’ ‘calling’: Initial implications for professional preparation curriculum design' (2023, Australian Journal of Music Education), 'Community Music in Oceania: Many Voices, One Horizon' (2018, book co-editor), 'What are you doing the rest of your life? A profile of Jazz/Contemporary Voice graduates' (2018, International Journal of Music Education), and chapters such as 'From 1–2–1 Instrumental to Large Class Academic Teaching: A Case of the 21st Century Conservatoire Lecturer' (2015). She has received AAUT Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning, including in 2018 as Teacher of the Year in the Creative Arts category and in 2021 with a Vice Chancellor's Commendation for Griffith University Teacher of the Year. Tolmie is recognised as a D'Addario International Artist and has contributed to public discourse through talks like her TEDxQUT presentation 'Are musicians our best employees?' Her work impacts music education by promoting sustainable portfolio careers and highlighting transferable skills in the evolving music industry.