About Frank Diaz

Frank M. Diaz is an Associate Professor of Music Education at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music.

He earned a bachelor’s and a Ph.D. in Music Education and Orchestral Conducting from Florida State University, and an M.M. in Instrumental Conducting from the University of South Florida. He previously held teaching positions at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) Conservatory of Music and Dance, University of Oregon, and school districts in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Florida. He is also former music director and conductor of the Corvallis Youth Symphony in Corvallis, Ore. Ensembles under his direction have performed at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, Music Educators National Conference, and various conferences and honor festivals across the United States.

Diaz maintains an active schedule as a performer, conductor, adjudicator, and clinician, and appears regularly as a guest speaker for arts organizations, educational institutions, and civic groups across the United States. Recent and upcoming engagements include appearances with the Wyoming All-State Symphony Orchestra, Kansas City Civic Orchestra, University of Colorado-Boulder, UMKC Midwest Honors Band and Orchestra Festival, Marquette Orchestra Festival, Ithaca College School of Music, Ithaca Summer Music Academy, University of North Carolina Greensboro School of Music, Southeastern String Workshop in Greensboro, N.C., and the American String Teachers Association Conference. He has founded and conducted orchestras at Florida State University, University of Oregon, and UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance.

Along with his work as an educator and conductor, Diaz is an active researcher on topics such as mindfulness in arts education, contemplative science, and teacher wellness, and presents regularly at international, national, and regional conferences. His research is published in prominent peer-reviewed journals, including Psychology of Music, Journal of Research in Music Education, Journal of Music Teacher Education, Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, Contributions to Music Education, Journal of Band Research, and Missouri Journal of Research in Music Education. Diaz currently serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Research in Music Education and is a co-director of the Music and Mind Lab at the Jacobs School of Music.