The Reverend Norm Freeman has earned Bachelor’s and Master’s of music degrees from The Juilliard School, and a Master of Divinity degree from the General Theological Seminary, New York.
Fr. Norm served as curate of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Riverside, Connecticut before moving west with his family to become Episcopal Chaplain for the University of California at Santa Barbara and Vicar of St. Michael and All Angels Church in Isla Vista. In 1999 the Jazz Vespers that Norm began at St. Paul’s inspired a full-page story in the Sunday edition of The New York Times entitled, “Where Music and the Ministry Merge.” Norm also served as music director and spiritual advisor for the National Church’s creation and recording of new music resources for liturgy composed by teens and young adults. The name of the project is “MiX” or “Music in Christ.”
Norm’s musical career includes performances with the New York Philharmonic, Barbra Streisand’s 1994, 2006 and 2012 Concert Tours, as well as, her 2007 and 2013 European Tours, the Jessye Norman / Kathleen Battle “Spirituals Concert,” the New York Pops, the 1999 “MTV Music Video Awards,” Saturday Night Live with Pavarotti and Vanessa Williams, Metallica in concert, numerous Broadway shows, the New York premiere of Paul McCartney’s "Standing Stone" with the Orchestra of St. Luke, and Jessye Norman’s Christmas CD, “In the Spirit.”
Norm served for eleven years as Percussion Department chair at Mannes College of Music—a division of the New School for Social Research in Manhattan. He has performed on four Grammy-nominated projects, including the Grammy Award-winning New York Philharmonic recording of Mahler: Symphony No. 3 in d minor, conducted by Leonard Bernstein. Norm, a veteran of the Streisand rhythm section, played on “Barbra Streisand – Live in Concert 2006” which won an Emmy for music director, Bill Ross.
Norm is a Yamaha Artist. He is also endorsed by Paiste Cymbals and Alternate Mode’s MalletKAT.
On October 22, 2004 he performed the world premiere of Pulitzer prize winning composer, Melinda Wagner’s “57 / 7 Dash” at Carnegie Hall with The New York Pops under the direction of Skitch Henderson. Maestro Henderson commissioned the work, featuring Norm and the orchestra’s percussion section. Fr. Norm is Rector and Headmaster of St. George's Church and Academy. He and his quartet played for three thousand people at the midday Eucharist for the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in 2009.
