Starting in March, MCVA adjunct professor David Freeman will be taking on a position as the assistant for school and educator programs in music at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He will be a part of the school and educator programs team and work to incorporate music and musical instruments into existing programs and research and expand programs in music and visual arts education.

Freeman first heard of the position through a colleague of his whom he knows through the Association of Teaching Artists. This colleague had recently started working at the Met and told Freeman that the museum was looking for a musician with experience in education to envision and design music programming to tie in with their existing visual arts programs.

The initiative ended up on the backburner at the outset of the pandemic, but once the Met started to open up again, Freeman’s colleague told him that they were once again actively seeking a candidate to fulfill this roll. He asked if Freeman knew anyone who might be interested.

“I looked at the job description and I told him I was set. I’m going to apply for this,” Freeman says. “It sounds perfect for me. It sounds like a culminating career change. It also fuses all of the experiences I have as a musician, as an educator, as a teaching artist.”

Freeman sent in his application last summer, went through a series of interviews, and was then offered the position. He looks forward to working with cultural arts educators and the museum’s leadership. He also looks forward to having access to one of the most extensive art collections in the world and finding new ways to engage the community with cultural arts through the museum.

Music has been a central part of Freeman’s life and identity since he was a teenager. His favorite genres include jazz, salsa, Indian Classical music, and afro-beat, but he really has a love for music in general and is always looking to support new, up and coming artists.

Freeman will continue to teach his jazz music history class on Wednesdays. However, he will no longer be teaching public speaking on Mondays. He and MCVA Department Chair Paul Ziek have already found his replacement: Todd Licea.

“He’s a fantastic human being with extensive film, television, and theater experience,” Freeman says. “The students are gonna love him, and we’re really, really lucky that we were able to find him and that he was able to join us with such short notice… I think the department is really lucky to have him as an addition to our faculty.”

Freeman has been working for Pace since the 2018 Fall semester. Since then, he has enjoyed his time here. He describes the MCVA department as “encouraging, motivating, and inspiring”, and he likes collaborating with his colleagues and working with his students.

“It’s really such meaningful work,” Freeman says. “It’s really a privilege to be able to work with young adults who are looking towards the future… I feel like my experience here has contributed to my qualifications for the Met position… I think the continuous experience I have here has set me up for success at the Met… It’s a new chapter, but it’s exciting.”