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Born in Richmond, Virginia, maestro Paul Freeman has made a global impact with his symphonic direction. Freeman attended the Eastman School of Music, where he earned his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D., with his principal instruments being the clarinet and the cello. Following that, he received a Fulbright Scholarship for two years of study at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin, and then studied under conductor Pierre Monteaux at the American Symphony.

Freeman began his conducting career with the Opera Theater of Rochester, New York, where he worked for six years. Following that, he served as the associate conductor of the Dallas and Detroit symphonies, and went on to become the principal guest conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1979, Freeman joined the Victoria Symphony in Canada, where he served as music director until 1989. In 1987, Freeman founded the Chicago Sinfonietta, where he serves as conductor, and in 1996 he was appointed the music director and conductor of the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. He serves in both posts concurrently.

Since the 1970s, one of Freeman's passions has been to expose audiences to black composers. The Sinfonietta has produced numerous shows highlighting the works of some of these individuals, and during the 1970s he released nine albums on Columbia Records to highlight some of the greatest black composers. In 1975, Time listed his recordings of the first four volumes in its top ten classical records of all time.

Freeman has conducted seven productions for national television and five productions for international audiences through Czech national television and has been involved in more than 200 recordings. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the prestigious Mitropoulos International Conductors Competition, the Spoleto Festival of Two Worlds Award and the Jubilate Award, Canada's highest award for music education. In total, he has conducted more than 100 orchestras in twenty-eight countries.

Freeman was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on April 24, 2003.