About David
David K Freeman is Assistant Educator, School and Educator Programs in Music at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and serves as an adjunct faculty member at Pace University’s Media Communications and Visual Arts Dept. where he teaches Jazz Music History, The Entertainment Industry, Writing for Print Media and Public Speaking. He is National Advisory Committee member for the Teaching Artist Guild and served as the Education Director for Brooklyn Raga Massive from 2020 - 2023.
He has traveled extensively to study music, including in the Dominican Republic and India. His work is infused with a passion for Jazz, Latin, and Folk music traditions. David is celebrating his latest album Gateway by Sha’ar and Puja with sitar player, Mustafa Bhagat. David continues to perform music from his 2018 release, Overview Effect. David is a founding member of The Biryani Boys, Sha’ar and the Outer Bridge Ensemble. He continues to collaborate on projects in the visual arts, dance, and film, including the composition and performance of original music for PBS' The Mind of a Chef and The Love Guru motion picture soundtrack.
David has worked with notable artists such as Mike Myers (SNL), Chris Hajian, Douglas Keeve, Alan Cumming, Annie Lanzillotto, Jimmy Buffett, Billy Martin (MMW), James Zollar, Gwen Laster, Fast Forward, Brent Green, Paul Rucker, Stephen Chopek, Nadine LaFond, Alicia Jo Rabins, Daniel Saks, Wyndham Boylan-Garnett, Lou Guarneri among many others.
Selected performances include Carnegie Hall, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Symphony Space, Joe's Pub, The Blue Note, The Stone, 55 Bar, Rockwood Music Hall, The Living Room, Jazz and Colors Festival, BRIC Arts, Roulette, ShapeShifter Lab, Brooklyn Bowl, Baby's All Right, Brooklyn Raga Massive, The Bearsville Theatre, Blues Alley, NJPAC, Grounds for Sculpture Park, Fine Art Museum Boston, The Contemporary Jewish Music (Radio CJM), Washington Jewish Music Festival, Chicago World Music Festival, Ottawa International Jazz Festival, Calgary International Jazz Festival, SaskTel Saskatchewan International Jazz Festival.
(Scroll down to view full Resume/CV)
Professional Experience
Assistant Educator, Educator and School Programs in Music, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (2022 - Present)
Director of Education, Brooklyn Raga Massive, Brooklyn, NY (2020 - 2023)
Project Manager / Archivist, Roper Records Long Island City, NY (2019 - Present)
National Advisory Committee Member, Teaching Artist Guild, NY / CA (2018 - Present)
Adjunct Professor, Pace University, NY (2018 – Present)
Public Programs and Education Fellow, Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco, CA 2016
Field Fellow, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, Washington D.C. (2015 - 2016)
Engagement Fellow, Washington Jewish Music Festival, Washington D.C. (2016)
Teaching Artist, Arts to Grow, New York, NY (2005 - 2017)
Asst. Program Coordinator/Clinician, TD Jazz Intensive/SaskTel Jazz Festival, SK Canada (2006 - 2016)
Teaching Artist, Saint Ann’s School, Brooklyn, NY (2007 – 2019)
Teaching Artist, Division of Youth Services, Middlesex County, NJ (2001 - 2011)
Professional Development
Music Retreat, Brooklyn Raga Massive, The Pocantinco Center, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, NY - 2023
Creative Aging Training, Lifetime Arts, New York, NY - 2021
LGBTQ + Workshop Series, Pace University, New York, NY - 2021
Indigenous Canada, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada - 2020
Deep River Readings with Daonne Huff, Asylum Arts, Brooklyn, NY - 2020
Encounters with Ethnomusicologists: Teaching Music/Teaching Culture, World Music Pedagogy - 2020
Teaching Effectively Online, Pace University, New York, NY - 2020
Clown Theatre Intensive with Jean Taylor, The Barrow Group, New York, NY - 2020
Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of the American Indian (CTLE), New York, NY - 2018
International Visions Retreat, Asylum Arts, Detroit, MI - 2018
Leadership LAB, Lincoln Center Education Summer Arts Forum, New York, NY - 2018
STAR Training Program, Central New York Arts, Auburn, NY - 2018
Certified Community Producer (Studio/Field Production), BRIC Arts Media, Brooklyn, NY - 2014
Six Points International Artist Retreat, Asylum Arts, Brooklyn, NY - 2013
Artist Residency, LABA Arts, New York, NY - 2008
International Arts Center Artist Residency, OMI Music, Ghent, NY - 2007
International Artist Residency, Makor/92nd Street Y, New York, NY 2006
Jazz and Creative Music Workshop, The Banff Arts Center, Alberta, Canada - 2004
Awards
Project Grant, The Puffin Foundation, Teaneck, NJ - 2022
Presentation Grant, Asylum Arts, Brooklyn, NY - 2021
Small Arts Project Grant, Asylum Arts, Brooklyn, NY - 2020
Special Projects Grant, Tides Foundation/Jubilation Foundation, San Francisco, CA - 2018
GW Capstone Fellowship, The George Washington University, Washington D.C. - 2016
Arts Project Grant, ROI/Schusterman Foundation, Washington D.C. - 2015
Arts Project Grant, Asylum Arts Grant,Brooklyn, NY - 2014
Arts Fellowship Grant, Tides Foundation/Jubilation Foundation, San Francisco, CA - 2013
Folk Arts Award, NJ State Council on the Arts, Trenton, NJ - 2008
Arts Fellowship Award, Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Morristown, NJ 2007
Published Work
Freeman, D. (2021). Browsing the Digital Landscape for New Teaching Practices, The Ensemble News, Cambridge, MA.
Freeman, D. (2021). Field of Vision. Allegro, New York, NY.
Guarneri, L., Ziek, P., & Freeman, D. (2021). “Throgs Neck: Anatomy of an Urban Underground Music Scene,” Proceedings of New York State Communication Association: Vol. 2020, Article 3.
Freeman, D. (2018). Let’s Make Sure the Teaching Artist isn’t an Endangered Species. Allegro, New York, NY.
Freeman, D. (2017). The Lulav. Asylum Arts Magazine, Brooklyn, NY.
Education
The George Washington University, Washington D.C. 2016
M.A. Education and Human Development
Coursework: Experiential Education, Museum and Cultural Arts EducationRutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 2001
B.S. Anthropology, Minor in MusicMusic instructors include Russ Moy, Billy Martin, Sam Ulano, Ustad Shabbir Nisar, Prasanna Thokchom Singh, Louis Bauzo, Albert Serrano & Sanga of the Valley.