Erin Freeman conducting the Richmond Symphony, Richmond Symphony Chorus, and Greater Richmond Children's Choir in the Annual Let It Snow Concert.
"Review: Richmond Symphony." - March 20, 2010. Clarke Bustard, Letter V. Regarding Jennifer Higdon's Concerto for Orchestra: "Freeman led an energetic, well-balanced performance from musicians who clearly relished their challenges."... "D'un matin de printemps, a short, eventful and vividaly colorful sample of the French impressionist style by Lili Boulanger, the short-lived younger sister of the great French pedagogue and conductor Nadia Boulanger, drew an animated and tonally polished reading from the orchestra."
"Review: Symphony impressive on a wide range of works." - March 22, 2010. Angela Lehman-Rios, Richmond Times Dispatch. "The program started with D'un matin de printemps by Lili Boulanger. From its shimmering beginning to its full-bodied end, the short work demonstrates the grace and power of an orchestra playing all together. Conductor Erin Freeman easily drew a rich, balanced sound from the musicians."
"Review: Richmond Symphony." - March 7, 2010. Clarke Bustard, Letter V. The Richmond Symphony's chamber-orchestra series...has long boasted the orchestra's most adventurous and imaginative programs. This weeken's edition was no exception. Regarding Ravel Introduction and Allegro with full strings: "The Ravel lost none of its pointillistic detail in this orchestration, devised by Freeman and members of the orchestra." Regarding Bizet Symphony in C: "Freeman and the orchestra delivered readings of both elegance and energy, with supple string playing and emphatic accenting."
"Let Us Play: Fiddling Around with the Richmond Symphony." - December 1, 2009. Beth Almore, Style Weekly. "Sydney Stewart, a young, burgeoning clarinet player, says conductor Freeman makes everyone feel welcome and capable of making great music. "I like the constructor[sic] - she's real nice." ... "Freeman gets the audience singing, shouting and doing the classical musical equivalent of the wave. Excitement spills over even into the ranks of the pros."
"Whodunit headlines first Lollipops concert." - November 1, 2009. Angela Lehman-Rios, Richmond Times Dispatch. "The Richmond Symphony began its new Lollipops concert series yesterday with a program well-suited for children and the adults who brought them. If this concert is any indication, the series will be entertaining but not infantile, enriching but not overtly instructional... Associate conductor Erin Freeman knew her audience...and didn't drag things out with didactic discourse."
"CenterStage's opening night." - September 13, 2009. Clarke Bustard, LetterV. "The symphony, conducted by Erin, opening the program brightly and energetically in the "Festive" Overture of Dmitri Shostakovich."
"Schmaltzy and Sublime: A smorgasbord of showmanship at the CenterStage grand opening." - September 15, 2009. Edwin Slipek, Jr, Style Weekly. "The program was book-ended by two spine-tingling displays. ...Live footage of the Richmond Symphony was projected onto a large screen while the orchestra bolted into Shostakovich's "Festive Overture," led at a spirited clip by Associate Conductor Erin Freeman."
"Bach Passion receives top marks." - April 19, 2009. Walt Amacker, Richmond Times Dispatch. "Kudos to orchestra associate conductor and chorus conductor Erin Freeman, who prepped many elements of the production and also sang with the chorus, including several short solos."
"Entertaining concert a resounding success, and snow’s the capper." - December 8, 2008. Walt Amacker, Richmond Times Dispatch."White ground coverage was evident over much of the city once the symphony, the Richmond Symphony Orchestra Chorus and the Greater Richmond Children's Choir...finished their entertaining program that ushered in the holiday season with class." "Opening with Leroy Anderson's "A Christmas Festival," a collection of just about every seasonal song one could ask for, and ending with George Frederick Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus" from "Messiah," there was something for everyone."
"Symphony Masters Handel's Messiah." - December 8, 2008. Walt Amacker, Richmond Times Dispatch. "Richmond Symphony Orchestra Chorus -- masterfully prepared by associate conductor and RSOC director Erin Freeman." "Smith and Freeman are to be commended for the orchestra and chorus preparation and performance."
"Review: Richmond Symphony." - December 6, 2008. Clarke Bustard, Letter V. "The Richmond Symphony Chorus, prepared by Erin Freeman, was outstanding, not just in the big showpieces "For unto us a child is born," "Hallelujah" and "Worthy is the Lamb," but also in the subtler "His yoke is easy" and "Since by man came death." The choristers’ ensemble and negotiation of counterpoint were consistently fine; and when they punched out big exclamatory lines, the effect was truly thrilling."
"Review: Richmond Symphony." - November 16, 2008. Clarke Bustard, Letter V. " The choristers, prepared by Erin Freeman, chanted solidly and produced more rarified tonalities quite strikingly."
"Symphony shines on works by Stravinsky and others." - November 16, 2008. Walt Amacker, Richmond Times Dispatch. "The symphony's chorus director, Erin Freeman, had the singers well-prepared and for the first time in recent memory separated chorus members rather than having them grouped in sections. The chorus responded very well to the new configuration, and one would hope that maybe the upcoming annual performance of "Messiah" will see the same layout."
"Richmond Symphony Offers Musical Education." - November 9, 2008. Letter to the Editor, Richmond Times Dispatch. "Conductor Erin Freeman rehearsed this crowd with skill and grace, encouraging the nervous newcomers without talking down to the veterans."
"Come and Play." November 3, 2008. Small Business Advice. "It just goes to show what having a common goal (the same music) and a great leader (the conductor, Erin Freeman, was spectacular) can do for a group."
"Symphony's Haydn Program Impressive." - October 5, 2008. Walt Amacker, Richmond Times Dispatch. "Joined by the Richmond Symphony Chamber Chorus -- prepped extremely well by associate orchestra conductor and chorus director Erin R. Freeman -- and O'Byrne, the Missa Brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo was another highlight of the evening."
"Review: Richmond Symphony." - October 4, 2008. Clarke Bustard, Letter V. "A chamber contingent of the Richmond Symphony Chorus, prepared by Erin Freeman, sang robustly in Haydn’s "Missa Brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo," better known as the "Little Organ Mass" for its organ obbligato (played here by Michael Simpson) accompanying a soprano soloist (O’Byrne) in the Benedictus. The chorus rendered the "telescoped" (textually overlapped) liturgy of the Gloria and Credo with more clarity than might have been expected, and with the cheerful fervor that 18th-century Austrians brought to musical settings of Catholic liturgy."
"Pocahontas Premieres Opens with Richmond Symphony" - June, 3, 2008. Eric Millirons, Midlothian Exchange. " "As the orchestra began its warm up, Dr. Erin Freeman, Associate Conductor, came into the audience to seek assistance from some 'whistlers' for one of the many familiar pieces that would be part of the presentation. The symphony started off with a series of Irving Berlin favorites. They had the audience’s feet stomping and hearts pumping to the sound of 'Alexander’s Ragtime Band,' then cooled them off with 'White Christmas' and then brought visions of Kate Smith to the audience with 'God Bless America.' ...The 'whistlers' were then called forward for the 'Colonel Bogey March.' As many old-timers will remember, this was the theme song from 'The Bridge Over The River Kwai' that starred William Holden. It was indeed a rousing version of the march. The four amateur 'whistlers' added to the enjoyment of the selection and were handsomely applauded. ...This had been quite an evening for musical enjoyment. Dr. Freeman and the Richmond Symphony are to be congratulated on a job well done and for providing a respite from the workweek that was both calming and foot stomping good. "
"Golden Performances Mark the Symphony's 50th Season" - June 2, 2008. Walt Amacker, Richmond Times Dispatch. "In the last presentation of the evening, the Richmond Symphony Chorus [prepared by Freeman] joined the orchestra for Maurice Ravel's "Daphnis et Chloe" and filled the great concert hall with a huge sound that left one wanting more."
"'Save the Last Dance' Symphony Program a Finale that Steps Lively" - May 3, 2008. Walt Amacker, Richmond Times Dispatch. "In its final concert at Toad's Place before moving to The National next season for its Kicked Back Classics series, the Richmond Symphony had something for everyone Thursday night... Associate Conductor Erin Freeman had put together an excellent program titled 'Save the Last Dance.' Kicking off with a lively reading of Aaron Copland's "Hoe-Down" from his incredibly popular "Rodeo," a ballet originally choreographed by Agnes de Mille in 1942, Freeman set the stage for the evening...And kudos to Freeman for adding a movement from "Danzas de Panama" by American composer William Grant Still... Bartok's "Rumanian Folk Dances" provided an excellent penultimate presentation that led to the final movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 7. It was a perfect topping by another dance-like piece to usher out the last Kicked Back Classics concerts of the season."
"Symphony Brings 'Requiem' to Life" - March 16, 2008. Walt Amacker, Richmond Times Dispatch. " "Prepped by the orchestra's associate conductor Erin Freeman, the chorus did a splendid job."
"Review: Richmond Symphony: Verdi Requiem" - March 15, 2008. Clarke Bustard, Letter V. "The chorus, prepared by Erin Freeman, sounded generally unified, robust and/or blood-curdling when appropriate; but in quieter sections its sound seemed to float over the room. Whether Verdi had such a literally angelic quality in mind we’ll leave for musicologists to ponder, but the effect was unexpected, striking and often quite moving."
"Review: Richmond Symphony: Bach Festival Series" - March 2, 2008. Clarke Bustard, Letter V. "Erin Freeman, the Richmond Symphony’s associate conductor, led chamber contingents of the orchestra and Richmond Symphony Chorus in a darkly expressive, rhythmically taut reading of Johann Sebastian Bach’s early cantata "Christ lag in Todesbanden" ("Christ Lay in the Bonds of Death"), BWV 4, sure to be remembered as one of the highlights of this season’s Bach Festival series.
Freeman paired the cantata with the comparably austere "Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten" by the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, a brief, proto-minimalist work for strings and bells that, although separated from the Bach by two and a half centuries, proved to be a striking introduction to the cantata.
The chorus, whose direction Freeman assumed this season, was trimmed to two dozen voices (among them, founding chorusmaster James Erb, singing in the tenor section), providing the right balance for the small string orchestra. The singers’ ensemble was generally unified and their diction good."
"A Joyful End to an Evening of Bach." - March 2, 2008. Francis Church, Richmond Times Dispatch. "The orchestra was in the capable hands of its versatile associate conductor, Erin Freeman. She not only conducts the symphony in its Kicked Back Classics and pops concerts but also its chorus, where she succeeded the venerable James Erb this season, and youth orchestra, and is a skilled talker for a concert like this lacking program notes." ... "In ... "Christ Lay in the Bonds of Death," Johann Sebastian Bach's early cantata composed when he was in his 20s, she excelled." ... "Were these singers marvelous! They enunciated the German words of Martin Luther impeccably."
"Lovers' Concert Hits Right Notes" - February 16, 2008. Walt Amacker, Richmond Times Dispatch. "Kudos to Freeman for choosing Diamond's composition." "Reznicek's overture to his opera "Donna Diana" put a beautiful golden bow on the night's presentation."
"Review: Messiah" - December 1, 2007. Clarke Bustard, Letter V. "Erin Freeman...made her public debut as director of the Symphony Chorus in the first of two Christmas-season performances of Handel's "Messiah." Although she was facing James Erb, the chorus' founding director, now singing in the tenor section, she showed no hesitation in crafting her own choral sound and putting her own interpretative stamp on this all-too-familiar work."
"Review: Richmond Symphony, Toad's Place" - November 2, 2007. Clarke Bustard, Letter V. "Freeman proved to be both a genially energetic host and a concert programmer who garnishes fun with substance and subtlety."
"Symphony Tries an Unlikely Venue." - October 6, 2007. Lisa Crutchfield. Richmond Times Dispatch. "Erin Freeman, associate conductor of the Richmond Symphony, capably handled her duties as conductor and as affable emcee and knowledgeable interpreter of the works. Her natural rapport with the audience and players worked well for the casual concert."
Walt Amacker's article on Erin Freeman. Run in the Richmond Times Dispatch.
Of the Richmond Symphony Orchestra's December 2, 2006, "Let it Snow" Pops Concert: "The energetic Freeman provided running commentary on each of the varied pieces performed and pulled excellent results out of all participants, including the audience on a singalong of well-known Christmas carols.... Freeman promises to bring a steady baton along with her new duties. She has vocal training and capabilities that should make her a natural for choral performances, and her conducting experience is extensive." Walt Amacker, Richmond Times-Dispatch, December 4, 2006.
"The big star was the orchestra, led sensitively by Erin Freeman." Tim Smith, Music Critic, Baltimore Sun, March 21, 2006
"Conductor Erin Freeman made the score's most emphatic moments speak." Tim Smith, Music Critic, Baltimore Sun, October 28, 2003
"Guest Conductor Erin R. Freeman obtained unusually rich and lyrical playing from the orchestra." Clarke Bustard, Music Critic, Richmond Times-Dispatch, November 3, 2003
"On the podium, Freeman is dynamic but grounded. She remembers what her role as conductor entails. Beyond the technical aspects comes much more - setting the tempo, expression and interpretation, but most importantly, listening." Paula Williamson, Savannah Morning News, March 3, 1999
"Vores's silky, floriferous 'Book of Aphrodite' featured soloists Erin Freeman, Chung Un Seo, and Julianna Tollestrup.... Virginal of timbre, pure of pitch, the singers twined seductive harmonies around the ravishing timbre of trumpets and flutes." Susan Larson, Boston Globe, February 10, 1997
"Can you Handel it?" by Clarke Bustard, Style Weekly, September 5, 2007. To read full article, click here.
"Richmond Symphony Selects New Associate Conductor." Richmond Symphony, October 16, 2006. Read full press release here.
"Symphony Names New Associate Conductor." by Melissa Ruggieri, Richmond Times Dispatch, October 18, 2006. Read full article here.
Walt Amacker's article on Erin Freeman. Run in the Richmond Times Dispatch.
