Biography

Dr Karen Anne Lonsdale holds a Bachelor of Music (Queensland Conservatorium); Graduate Diploma of Music (Queensland Conservatorium); Meisterklassendiplom (Hochschule für Musik in Munich); Graduate Certificate in Education (Queensland University of Technology); Master of Learning and Teaching (with Distinction)(University of Southern Queensland), and a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) (Griffith University).

She was a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Music and Performing Arts, Sultan Idris Education University, Malaysia from 2012-2018.  Her research has been published in the Medical Problems of Performing Artists journal, and the Malaysian Music Journal.  

Karen Lonsdale has performed with numerous professional orchestras and ensembles in Australia and overseas. She was an Artist in Residence at the Kingston Butter Factory (KBF) Cultural Precinct in September 2022, and performed there in November with Topology, one of Australia’s leading contemporary ensembles. In 2023, she performed alongside Brijette Tubb (flute), Dr Anna Rutkowska-Shock (piano) and Maharshi Raval (tabla) in a recital at the Australian Flute Festival in Sydney. In April 2024, she performed with Renat Yusupov (cello), Dr Hila Yusupov (piano), Francis Gilfedder (traditional instruments), and Ravi Singh (tabla) at the Brisbane City Hall for the Brisbane City Council’s lunchtime concert series.

Dr Lonsdale is a registered teacher, a music examiner for the Australian Music Examinations Board, and teaches flute and singing in her own private studio. She has been an adjudicator for eisteddfods and music competitions in Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, as well as in Singapore (online) and Malaysia. She has also been a peer assessor for both Arts Queensland and Creative Australia.