Remembering longtime Minnesota Orchestra violist Kenneth Freed

Kenneth Freed, a violist with the Minnesota Orchestra for 27 years, died unexpectedly of natural causes while participating in a triathlon on June 29 in the St. Paul suburb of White Bear Lake. He was 64.

Born in New York in 1961, Freed, who played violin and viola, began music lessons as a youngster, studying at the Henry Street Settlement Music School with Elizabeth Weickert and later, the Juilliard Pre-College Division with Louise Behrend. After earning undergraduate and graduate degrees in English and in music at Yale University, Freed’s first job as a professional musician was as a violinist with the Manhattan String Quartet.

Following his primary interest, orchestral music, Freed joined the Minnesota Orchestra as a violist in 1998, a position he held for the rest of his life. Being part of the Minnesota Orchestra gave Freed the opportunity to tour throughout North America and Europe, as well as in Cuba, South Africa and Vietnam.

A passionate musician and educator, Freed was music director of the Mankato Symphony Orchestra for 12 years ending in 2019. “He elevated our organization with his wealth of industry knowledge, expertise and talent,” MSO Board President Shannon Beal said at the time. “The Greater Mankato community has been very fortunate to have Ken’s presence and artistic gifts contributing to the music and arts culture of southern Minnesota.”

Freed was also a co-founder of Learning Through Music Consulting Group, a nonprofit organization that used music to enhance and improve children’s ability to learn and to absorb new information. He was an advocate for increased funding in music education in public schools, and his commitment to music education was evidenced in his partnerships with Minneapolis Public Schools, the University of Minnesota, the MacPhail Center for Music, Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies, and the Walker West Music Academy in St. Paul's Rondo neighborhood.

In a letter to Minnesota Orchestra board members, staff and musicians, the orchestra’s CEO and president Brent Assink wrote, “As anyone who spent a moment in Ken’s presence knows, he was warm, outgoing, big-hearted, endlessly full of life and very, very funny. … there are certainly no words to express all that Ken means to the Minnesota Orchestra.”

The Minnesota Orchestra itself has called Freed “an extraordinary colleague, musician and dear friend.” In honor of Freed, the Orchestra is dedicating its performances on July 10 to 12, 2025, to his memory.

Freed is survived by his wife, Gwendolyn, and their three children. Services have been held.