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He's got that swing
California priest performs in Barbra Streisand concert tour
[Episcopal News Service] In 1994, percussionist Freeman finished a concert tour with Barbra Streisand and entered General Theological Seminary (GTS) in New York on a path to the priesthood. "I literally went from staying at the Four Seasons in Newport Beach to really holy space, a fourth-floor walkup at GTS," he says.In 2006, Freeman toured with Streisand again, playing 20 concerts in 16 cities, before packing up for a new ministry as priest-in-charge under special circumstances at an Episcopal church and school 55 miles south of Los Angeles. "The bishop called while I was ... actually in rehearsal for the tour and asked if I would seriously consider this appointment."
In between, Freeman has launched jazz vespers services at churches in Connecticut and California, maintained his tenure as timpanist for the New York Pops and continued to perform in various venues while working as a priest.
"By and large, I've made a decision to play music for the church, music in the church and to do concerts when I have the opportunity," he says. "I don't do other things. I don't do clubs ... One has to focus a bit."
Most recently, he served as Episcopal chaplain for the University of California at Santa Barbara and vicar of the Church of St. Michael and All Angels in Isla Vista, Calif. He often plays a musical meditation on vibraphone -- typically based on a hymn or something else from the "church musical vocabulary" -- after preaching. During Advent and Lent, he schedules jazz Taize services.
Reaching out
"Music is an extraordinary way to do evangelism," he says. "We have been truly intentional about reaching out to the campus community, and we use musicians ... that are members of the jazz program here at USCSB."
His musical gift, he says, is an ability to program music from various genres that fit well together. "As a percussionist, I've had to play in a lot of different styles," he says. "The element that I often hold onto ... is to try to bring those pieces together with a sense of good taste, so that it's not novelty for the sake of novelty."
Freeman earned bachelor's and master's of music degrees from the Juilliard School in New York and has played with performers from the Moody Blues to Rosemary Clooney to Jesse Norman. He was percussionist in the Grammy Award-winning New York Philharmonic recording of Mahler's Symphony No. 3 in D Minor. Since seminary, he's performed for the 1999 MTV Music Video Awards broadcast, Saturday Night Live with Pavarotti and Vanessa Williams and the New York premiere of Paul McCartney's Standing Stone with the Orchestra of St. Luke's.
Freeman met his wife Lori, now a Pilates instructor and trainer, while playing percussion for the George M. Cohan revival of the Broadway show Little Johnny Jones starring Donny Osmond. She was dance captain. "I was in the pit flirting like crazy."
In 1994, Freeman landed a job in the rhythm section of Streisand's tour marking her return to the concert stage.
"Certainly having the opportunity to play with her then was the thrill of a lifetime," he says. "The level of music-making in that kind of setting is just so fulfilling and life-giving and glorious." He describes the performance process as a spiritual path, getting "out of my own way" to offer his best to the audience.
Life on the road
Just before the last concert, he wrote Streisand a letter telling her how much he enjoyed the tour and that he was heading to seminary when it ended. "She was very, very gracious and said she enjoyed the letter."
Freeman stayed musically connected in the years that followed, including a continuing stint with the New York Pops even after he moved to Santa Barbara.
"It's actually not that complicated a schedule," he says. "We do about five concerts in Carnegie Hall a year, Friday night subscriptions. Our music director of many years, Skitch Henderson, before he passed away last year, he did not like to rehearse. We would basically have a dress rehearsal on Friday afternoon ... I could essentially fly out and be back Saturday, especially with the time change."
Having remained in the musical "loop," Freeman was invited to join Streisand's 2006 tour. With the blessing of his bishop, Jon Bruno, Freeman took a sabbatical and went back on the road from Oct. 4 to Nov. 20. Streisand and the 58-piece orchestra entertained 260,000 fans, setting attendance records in several cities.
Ministry of hospitality
The cross-country trip included time for sightseeing and visiting friends and mentors. "It really was a time of renewal," Freeman says.
It also was an opportunity to offer a ministry of hospitality and presence to his tour-mates. Although he didn't wear a collar, "certainly the orchestra was very aware of the fact that I'm a priest," he says. "There were a number of other folks that were from different denominations that were really interested in talking about their own religious life, their own curiosities, their own things that they had found profound."
Music was "the vehicle that opened the door for some really wonderful conversations," he says. He developed a close relationship, for example, with a Muslim musician he met on the tour. "We really connected in a very special way."
Back home, Freeman began preparing for his new call at St. George's Church and Academy in Laguna Hills, where he anticipates continuing to incorporate music into his ministry. And he remains open to future gigs, commenting: "God is my booking agent."