September 11, 2002

A perfect rhythm

fuels his passion for the ministry that is his future.

By SALLY CAPPON
South Coast Beacon

The Rev. Norm Freeman will make an unusual contribution to today’s Interfaith Service of Healing and Reconciliation to commemorate the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

His role in the noon service at First United Methodist Church is as unique as his ministry as vicar of St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church in Isla Vista.

Freeman, also chaplain of Episcopal Campus Ministry at UCSB, will play a musical meditation on the vibraphone.

The same evening, he will be timpanist with the Santa Barbara Symphony accompanying a 200-voice choir performing Mozart’s Requiem at the Arlington Theater as part of a worldwide "Rolling Requiem."

Performing at major events is nothing new for Freeman.

Much of his life, he was a busy professional musician in New York, with a resume that includes the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera, Barbra Streisand and Luciano Pavarotti, as well as a Grammy.

He returns for concerts five times a year with the New York Pops Orchestra under Skitch Henderson.

"I’m the timpanist for the orchestra," said the Juilliard-educated percussionist. "I love playing timpani. I’ve been with the orchestra since it was founded 20 years ago. It’s something I’m able to continue. I’m really fortunate."

At St. Michael’s, music is naturally incorporated into worship. "The longer I hold two vocations, the more I realize how important music is," he said. "It has extraordinary ability to build community.

"Entering a concert hall is like going into a temple. You discover God in deeper, richer ways."

On Sept. 29, he will resume weekly Sunday evening jazz/Taize services, blending music with meditation in the soaring, modernistic church. Monthly jazz vespers begin Oct. 12.

On Saturday, Oct. 5, there will be a repeat of a block party called Celebrate Isla Vista, which Freeman inaugurated in the spring of 2001. The alcohol-free event, cosponsored by university and community groups, offers free pizza and soft drinks plus a DJ and live band.

"The last time there were 1,200 people," he said. "It’s getting big. It’s a wonderful party. It brings the whole community together."

The party will be on newly landscaped church grounds at Camino Pescadero and El Greco. Surrounded by apartments, "We’ve become an oasis in the community," said Freeman, pointing to a dozen new redwoods, sycamores, oaks, king palms, an olive grove, a small field of rosemary and sprawl of bougainvillea. A path winds to a planned labyrinth as plantings follow colors of the liturgical seasons.

At the height of Freeman’s music career, and with the support of his wife, Lori, a dancer, he entered General Theological Seminary in New York City. After his ordination in 1997, he served a church in Greenwich, Conn., before coming to Isla Vista in early 2000.

St. Michael’s "seemed like a place of enormous potential" and he was comfortable in a college atmosphere, thanks to his 10 years as chairman of the percussion department at Mannes College of Music in New York. "I love relationships with college students, of being a mentor or guide," he said.

Today, "I walk the streets. I walk the campus." He has become involved with community and campus organizations to "improve everyone’s quality of life." After four young people were run down by a mentally disturbed student in Isla Vista in 2001, UCSB found chaplains as "a positive source and resource."

He plans to start an arts and education program for neighborhood youth, offering instrumental music lessons and dance to boost self esteem. He and his wife, a Pilates instructor, host a meal and Bible study in their Goleta home. The couple’s daughter, Brady, 15, attends Dos Pueblos High, and son Chris, 11, goes to La Patera School.

While music is still there, Freeman said, "My greatest desire nowadays is to be known as a fine and faithful priest."