Paul Freeman (conductor)

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Paul Douglas Freeman (January 2, 1936 – July 21, 2015) was an American conductor and the founder of the Chicago Sinfonietta. He was born in Richmond, Virginia, and studied at the Eastman School of Music, earning bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees. Through a Fulbright, he studied in Berlin with Ewald Lindemann and later studied conducting with Pierre Monteux at the American Symphony Orchestra.

Freeman conducted many orchestras. He began as music director of the Opera Theatre of Rochester, then served as associate conductor of the Dallas Symphony (1968–1970) and the Detroit Symphony (1970–1979). He was also principal guest conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic and music director of the Victoria Symphony (1979–1988). In 1987 he founded the Chicago Sinfonietta and led it until 2011. He also served as music director and chief conductor of the Czech National Symphony Orchestra in Prague starting in 1996, and was named emeritus music director after his time with the Sinfonietta.

Freeman was a prolific recording conductor. He produced a nine-LP series on Black composers, later released as a Sony Classical boxed set. He recorded Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven piano concertos with pianist Derek Han and appeared on many televised performances, earning Emmy nominations. He died in Victoria, British Columbia, in 2015 at age 79. His papers and recordings are housed at the Center for Black Music Research in Chicago and at the University of Victoria.