For 25 years, Ken Freudigman has been on the forefront of San Antonio’s classical music scene as the co-founder of Camerata San Antonio and as a conductor and educator with Youth Orchestras of San Antonio (YOSA).
The greatest number of classical fans may know him from his place in the San Antonio Philharmonic, formerly the San Antonio Symphony, where he’s been the principal cello since 2005.
But after this weekend’s concerts, he's stepping down from that stage.
“Teaching, for me, is probably the most noble thing you can do,” Freudigman said.
Freudigman will concentrate his efforts on chamber music and on YOSA.
“Some of the most transformative moments in teaching is when you are working with a child and they get it… and you can see it in their face. You can see it in their affect. You can hear it in their instrument. There’s something electric with that transfer of knowledge,” he explained.
“If you would have asked the 20-year-old me … that you’d be wanting to teach more and leave orchestra, I would say, ‘you’re nuts.’ But I just feel like I have a calling to do this.”
Freudigman was born into a musical family in Michigan, and he knew at an early age that he wanted to play cello.
“I was about eight years old,” he remembered. “My mom took me to a concert, and I was kind of reluctant to go.”
Smiling, Freudigman recalled, “There was this old cellist, a Russian cellist, with a funny name, Mstislav Rostropovich, and he played the Dvořák concerto. And this squirmy eight year old apparently sat there, rapt, for 35 minutes of that concerto! And at the end of it, I tapped [my mom], and I said, ‘That one. I want that one.’ And the next day, she got me a cello.”
Freudigman came to San Antonio by way of Mexico City, where he played in the philharmonic. He won a position with the San Antonio Symphony in 2000 when the orchestra was just wrapping up its tenure with former Music Director, Christopher Wilkins.
“I just remember the warmth that I got from all the colleagues in the orchestra, but especially the cello section,” he said. “The cello section at that time was older, and was starting to change, but they just brought me in and embraced me, which was really wonderful.”
Another thing happened along the way in those early years with the San Antonio Symphony. Freudigman noticed a young viola player.
“I remember this very wonderful young lady who got the assistant principal position. I decided, 'I think I want to go say hello to her.' ”
That intelligent, witty young lady -- as Freudigman described her -- was Emily Watkins, who would later become Emily Watkins Freudigman. She was also his partner in more than matrimony.
In 2003, the San Antonio Symphony’s season was canceled because of the orchestra’s bankruptcy. Freudigman explained: “We had to make a decision -- do we try to leave and go somewhere else and get a job?”
The couple felt that the music shouldn’t go silent: “We decided, 'well, let’s do something.'”
The pair formed Camerata San Antonio, which that year served as sort of an artist collective of chamber music, using as many of the 70-some members of the San Antonio Symphony as they could to put on concerts at Travis Park United Methodist Church.
“We sent out a letter saying we’re doing this … and one of the first people who called was Ken Bloom. He said, ‘How much to sponsor a concert?’ And I just popped out a number, and he said ‘Thank you,’ and hung up. A couple days later, a very large check came in, and I knew I had tapped into something in San Antonio.”
Over two decades, after a nationwide album release and two Latin Grammy nominations, Camerata San Antonio continues to this day as a core string quartet with pianist Viktor Valkov.
And while Ken Freudigman is leaving the San Antonio Philharmonic, he emphasized that he wasn't leaving San Antonio. His work with YOSA and performances with Camerata San Antonio will continue, as will his cheering for his now former colleagues in the Philharmonic.
“I wish them the best in their endeavors to make [the Scottish Rite Auditorium] the new home of the San Antonio Philharmonic,” he said, adding that he wishes there were more support of the arts in general, not just in our region, but nationwide.
There’s no shortage of opportunities to see or hear something great in South Texas, he noted. “Go to concerts," he said. "We have an embarrassment of riches of chamber music.”
Here’s to Ken Freudigman’s next 25 years.
BONUS: Use the audio player below to hear an extended interview with Ken Freudigman about his career, early memories of music, and even his work as a potter.
