Erin Freeman

Faculty Guest Conductor

When Erin Freeman was six years old, she heard the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus, conducted by Robert Shaw, and determined that she was going to make a life with music. The piece was the final movement of Bach’s B-Minor Mass, and since then her journey has weaved its way through the worlds of opera, chorus, orchestra, and musical theater – all experiences that inform her work today. Currently, Ms. Freeman is Music Director of the Richmond Philharmonic, Director of Orchestras at the award-winning Baltimore School for the Arts, and Resident Conductor of the Peabody Conservatory, where this year she will conduct the Main-Stage performance of Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music.

As a singer, Ms. Freeman has performed a variety of opera and musical theater roles, including Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro, Mlle. Silberklang in The Impresario, Maria in West Side Story, Pitti Sing in the Mikado, Louisa in the Fantastics, and her most notable part: Peter Pan. Her exposure to stage work, however, extends far beyond playing lead roles. She has conducted Britten’s Albert Herring (with Peabody Opera Theatre), Donizetti’s Rita, and Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi; and served as Assistant Conductor to the Baltimore Lyric Opera’s productions of The Magic Flute, Madame Butterfly, and The Barber of Seville. She has also been music director of several musical theater productions, including La Cage Aux Folles, Gypsy, Guys and Dolls, and Peter Pan. In addition, as an intern with the Atlanta Opera, she called lights, worked props and stage crew, and organized outreach performances.

Recipient of numerous awards, including the “I Gotta Sing” award from Interlochen Cabin #2, and the “Most Geeky Singer” award from her colleagues in children’s choir, Ms. Freeman holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Northwestern University, a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Boston University, and has almost completed her Doctoral Degree in Orchestral Conducting at Peabody, where she studies with Gustav Meier and Markand Thakar.

For more information, including a formal bio, resume, repertoire list, and concert schedule, please visit Ms. Freeman’s website at www.novoartists.com/freeman.html.