I'm so pleased Vanessa Tomlinson has been appointed as the Director of The Queensland Conservatorium. It seemed like the Con has been drifting away from its prime focus on performance. 

Vanessa is a highly sought after performer and has an insightful managerial intelligence and enormous energy and enthusiasm.

Here is what she said upon accepting the position:

“I will continue to play,” Tomlinson tells me after finding out she will now sit in the big chair at The Con. 

“Leadership can be creative and I’m an improviser. I think that will be great to model for the students. And I have the opportunity to bring all sorts of guests here. Music is all about collaboration and meeting new people.”

Tomlinson feels that it is “a good time to have an internal candidate, to draw on all that local knowledge and build on that as we head towards 2032”. There was an international search but it’s gratifying that talent already on hand was acknowledged.

Professor Vanessa Tomlinson, photo by Raphael Neal.